In the End
by V0ID
Summary: Seconds after Lelouch's murder, the world descends into chaos unlike the peace he had hoped for. After all, brilliant schemes like the Zero Requiem do have a tendency to go awry... Suzaku, Kallen, Nunally, C.C and Lelouch POV. This story is now obsolete but still up for your enjoyment because the author has chose to re-write it.
1. Rebirth

In the End

"The world is not so simple that one man's self-sacrifice can save it. Remember, no matter how talented you are, you're just a human being. There is no need for any one person to become either a savior or a murderer for sake of the world." - Rurouni Kenshin

Rated T for violence and lime. Also contains scenes that the anime skipped.

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><p>September 28, 2018 a.t.b<p>

Chapter 1- Rebirth

Kallen

Seconds after the 99th emperor of the Holy Brittanian Empire, Lelouch, drew his last breath, chaos ensued. Cheers of "**ZE-RO! ZE-RO!**" erupted from the once tyrannized citizens lining the streets, yelling praise to the masked savior of Japan. After the slaughtered ex-emperor's troops vanished in the madness, the terrorist mastermind himself tore the still screaming Nunally off of her brother's bloodstained corpse. To the surprise of all onlookers, she fought him, determined to stay with the man who, by incurring the entire world's wrath, had created a better and brighter future for all who his influence had reached. Her wailing was drowned out by praise of Zero, defender of the weak and slayer of the hated Demon King Lelouch. As the liberated Black Knights took to the street to be greeted by an admiring crowd, the now Empress Nunally was carried away by her sister, Cornelia. Her haunting cries rang in the heart and ears of everyone, garnering sympathy for the poor little girl who had just lost her brother.

As the new soon-to-be Empress was dragged back to the Tokyo Settlement Palace, most of the newly free Black Knights set to chasing off the remnants of the Demon King's slave army, turning the instruments of their oppression against their persecutors. Their bonds had been pried open with anything available at the time, fingers and arms pulling together as one towards the common goal of liberation.

Someone had an idea to move the body before it was harmed, and a few of the Black Knights moved it from the base of it's crimson sacrament. From the disgusted looks on their faces it still carried the warm of life, steadily dripping a trail of claret red. Lelouch could almost be sleeping except for the horrendous hole right through his stomach, eyes peacefully shut against the world. Out of respect his long saintly robes were quickly wrapped around him in an obstructing cocoon.

After a tearful reunion with Viletta Nu, Ohgi approached Kallen. His disapproving expression spoke volumes, no doubt hinting at the whole mess his recent discovery was going to lead to. "Wait...where's C2?" he asked, worrying the painful chafe wounds on his wrists.

Scanning the float, she averted her eyes from where the defiled corpse had lay, and realized that the green-haired witch was indeed absent.

"C2...wait a second…you're right, where is she? Doesn't she usually stay at his side at all times?"

"We better find her, for the chances are pretty good she's carrying Lelouch's child!" huffed Ohgi, a scowl on his face.

Kallen, turning red, scowled back. "Ohgi! Why would you say that?" _I hope not..._

Ohgi sniped a reply, taken aback that his theory hadn't gone over so well. "I don't see how it's so impossible. We all know that-" he dropped his voice so only she could hear, "when Lelouch was Zero they were always messing around. Don't forget, C2 **was** his accomplice every step of the way, and that makes her just as guilty as him. Her influence as Lelouch's former mistress could also help her rebuild his army, or whatever is left of it."

"Shut up! We both know that's not true! Anyways his soldiers will pose much more of a risk than some woman, even if she is preg-...alive." Kallen said dismissively. The damning prisoner's garb clung to her skin in the hot sun; sticky white fabric that was a perfect backdrop for the blood she was supposed to have shed. Abandoned Knightmare frames littered the area, silent sentinels to their fallen master.

Secretly she hoped C2 had enough sense to flee the country after she heard the news of Lelouch's assassination, and once Ohgi had moved on to freeing the remaining rebels, she allowed a couple of tears for the man she had gone to school with and fought beside in battle. The echoe of his lips, resisting hers as she'd said her goodbye pressed heavily on her mind, letting unanswered questions come with it.

_I get it now. With his whole self-destructive plan, he didn't want to bring me down with him. That's why he pushed me away..is it? There could have, SHOULD have, been another way! I mean… NO! I shouldn't feel this way toward such a monster...but that was all an act...was it?"_

With sorrow and doubt in her heart, the smile on her face didn't come anywhere near her eyes, plastic and fake, fake because she, unlike almost everyone around her wasn't in any way happy about Lelouch's unexpected murder. It was hard to process how people who considered themselves good could celebrate the death of another, no matter who it was. However the time demanded conformity, and Kallen hoped that her tears of sorrow could be interpreted as those of joy.

Though everyone thought his life had ended, his second one was just beginning.

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><p>Yes, I know it's short, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter.<p>

1/27/13

After working on this story for over two years I have grown dissatisfied with the direction it has taken, and am doing a complete re-structuring/re-writing to make it the story I want it to be. You can still enjoy the forty-something chapters I have here, but know that a completely new and certainly much better version is in the works! Thanks. –VO1D


	2. Decision

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass or the characters, no matter how much I like them

Chapter 2-Moments

C.C

Her knees aching slightly from kneeling so long, C.C knew the Zero Requiem was complete as soon as she heard the rejoicing in the street, as cheers spread like wildfire across the country "You really did it, Lelouch." she murmured, brushing the tears off her face, and forced herself to stand. The pain of losing a loved one was unfamiliar, and stronger than she remembered. The effect of the nun's death, soured by her betrayal, was small potatoes compared to the gaping impact his loss had on her. _You're right, Kallen. I am becoming more human. _She thought to herself as she left the church, to be swept up in the crowd of rejoicing citizens.

Stepping aimlessy, she let the mob direct her toward a TV screen outside of a café the was showing the news. After seeing the blond newscaster and crew stare numbly in shock at the scene unfolding, and how none of the first-hand witnesses on the street made any effort to conceal their joy, C.C tore her golden eyes away. All of this celebration seemed to drive more splinters into her heart, which already felt like a pincushion.

"What are they gonna to do with the body?" asked a small child nearby.

Smiling devilishly, an older boy said "Bury it. Or hopefully stuff it full of garlic and put the head on a stake."

Then he laughed, and the younger boy looked a little sick. CC didn't blame him.

"Yuki! Don't scare your younger brother!" scolded a lady beside them "What about that poor woman, too? She looks like she might faint! Are to you alright?" She asked, stifling a cough. Her brow was creased with concern.

Realizing a bit too late that she was 'that poor woman", CC managed a "mm fine", but she still appeared to be in distress.

"I bet she was happy under HIS rule, that's it! Well y'know, the news just said that the public will be allowed at his funeral tomorrow, so now you can cry over that human shish kabob with your beloved Brittainain royals!" smirked the older boy.

"Yuki! That's it, we're going to go celebrate at home." The woman declared, then grabbed the wrists of the two boys and dragged them off.

_Tomorrow? So soon? _CC wondered, then made a split-second decision. _I'm going to go...the last time I will ever see him, I'll have to say goodbye properly. _Her current location was the Shinjuku ghetto, for she and Lelouch had agreed that no one would notice her amongst all of the residents, and if she was searched for, they wouldn't suspect her being so close. _I know this is stupid... I'm basically walking into the belly of the beast. _She knew that if Lelouch were still alive he wouldn't approve of her rashness, and would laugh at her for being so sentimental. However, dismissing those thoughts, she instead began to focus her efforts on finding a decent disguise.

The next morning, after scarfing down a slice of pizza that tasted like cardboard, CC began her rather perilous trip to the Viceroy's Palace, where she had learned from a friendly shopkeeper that funeral would be taking place. After the F.L.E.I.J.A had obliterated most of the Tokyo Settlement, the area surrounding the blast site had been evacuated, and the street was crammed with refugees. It also didn't help that the street where Lelou- he had been murdered had been hastily blocked off under Cornelia's orders, who had used his death as an opportunity to restore "order." Made uneasy by the sheer number of people that choked the streets, her disguise of tell-tale green hair pulled into a bun under a black face-concealing hat and veil, with a matching suit/skirt seemed flimsy and obvious. Again, she assured herself _If I __**am**__ being sought out, they won't expect me to be in the very same room!_

First traveling by taxi and then bypassing the security checkpoint to the palace, she was struck by how deserted in contrast to the street it was. In fact, she stuck out painfully in the courtyard that was otherwise deserted except for the occasional soldier. Following the hastily added signs, she found herself in the small chapel off to the side of the main palace building. Whoever had set it up clearly didn't plan on a lot of people coming, as only a handful of the pews were in usable condition.

CC was clearly late, as the few seats were mostly filled. She spotted in the group Kaname Ohgi Sinichiro Tamaki, Cornelia and Nunally. However, the only ones crying or were Nunnaly and of course, Tamaki. Following where most of them were looking, she saw Lelouch's body. He was lying on a table covered in a white sheet, and with the dust motes that filled the air it looked like he had been blanketed in a soft layer of snow. A low murmur of chatter and the clicking of people texting on their phones was often punctuated by a sporadic fit of coughing, and the witch chose a seat near the center, wary of the guards menacingly positioned around the room.

"Sorry." she said, as she had stepped on the hem of someone's dress.

"Oh..you're fine.." trilled a way-too-familiar voice, belonging to none other than Nunally.


	3. Corruption

I don't own CG.

Chapter 3- Corruption

Nunnally

_My brother is dead. _Those were the words that had ceaselessly concussed Nunally vi Brittania's mind for the last day and night. Sitting up in her bed, her eyes prickled with tears that soon made their escape down her cheek. As the sun rose, marking the first day after his death, her attendant Saiyoko drew the heavy curtains, letting the sun wash over her temporary room.

"Good morning Mistress Nunnally." she said, helping Nunally out from under her covers and into a formal gown, black and conservative for mourning.

The sunbeams splashed around her room stood in stark contrast to her still felt like His presence was here in the Viceroy's palce, and at the moment the remnants of the Imperial court and army were trying to locate, then capture C.C, Lelouch's self-proclaimed accomplice. And though most traces of Him had mysteriously disappeared from Palace despite the month of mourning that was supposed to take place, his alterations to the palace interior remained. Currently residing in a guest room, Nunally hadn't yet heard of the Court's plans to burn all of the previous ruler's possessions, as if they were tainted with some disease.

To make matters worse, the rebel leader Zero himself had been invited as a guest of honour at the palace, and though he had declined, the insult of the invatation by her court still stung, only reminding her further of the previous day's tragedy. As she saw it, the nobles who were present were making no effort to appear sad at her brothers murder, unknown to them by his best friend's hand. And it was another matter altogether that they had acted without her permission. After getting a strange glimpse into His mind, Nunally didn't know what to feel toward Suzaku at the moment, as she was too overloaded with greif, anger and shock.

"Mistress Nunally, what would you like for breakfast? Be sure to have enough to keep you full past noon. Master Lelouch's funeral has been scheduled to start in a few hours." Saiyoko interrupted her thoughts, grabbing a try-carrying cart from the foot of her bed, which carried any breakfast food you could imagine.

"Thank you, Saiyoko." Nunally managed to choke out, despite the emotions congealing in her throat.

After choking down breakfast without really tasting any of it, Nunally inquired "Saiyoko? Why is brothers funeral so soon? Usually there's a procession, vigil and everything...it's almost like..like they want to pretend he n-n-never existed..." she sobbed.

"Your Majesty..." the maid began, the words seeming unfamiliar in her mouth. "Your Majesty..er...your Imperial Court has decided at the emergency meeting that because of the...circumstances of Master Lelouch's regime that it...it would be best for the current ruler, you, to show as little approval as possible of his actions-"

"Meeting? **What** meeting?" Nunnally interrupted, her voice rising."They made decisions without me? But **I'm** the empress now, aren't I?"

"Your Majesty, you see the meeting was led by Lady Cornelia and I don't even think it was official. Besides, that doesn't really matter now anyways, for the funeral is starting in a few hours and you as his sister should get there early." And with that, she briskly wheeled the bemused Nunally away.

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><p>Nunally was the first to arrive, and she wondered what Cornelia had been thinking in having an no coffin, because apparently they hadn't bothered to change the bloodstained robes he had died in, she observed with rising anger and nausea. Considering it blasphemous , she insisted to a nearby guard that his body be covered, which resulted in them draping a simple white sheet over him. Next, Looking around the room that had been hastily prepared for the ceremony, she saw that the only ones currently attendance were her and Saiyoko.<p>

Averting her eyes from him, trying to look anywhere but at the still, solid form on the table, her fury grew when she saw that the sorry excuse for a chapel they were in wasn't even properly arranged. Feeling a fresh wave of tears coming on, the empress swallowed them then called over to her sister Cornelia, who had just entered.

"Cornelia! What's going on here? Where is everyone? Why didn't you ask me-"

"Nunally." she said, in a tone probably meant to be soothing. "I know you are in charge, and please forgive me, but do you think you would have been able to handle arranging your dear brother's funeral?" that had struck a nerve, as Nunally managed a tiny "No..you're right. I guess I should be grateful that I've gotten so much help from you...after all, I...thanks...I just..."

Cornelia interrupted. "I know Nunally, it's a hard thing to go through." murmured her half-sister. "But we'll just have a short ceremony now and it will all be over."

"But I don't want it to be over! He was my brother, and I-" Nunally began to protest.

"You're the empress now Nunally. Think of your people and of the Brittanian empire itself. You see, we **are** the leading world power, and your brothers actions has obviously enraged the entire world with his actions. Though you...uh, we are sad now, imagine how terrible it was to live under the dictatorship he created. Anyways it's your job as the empress to do what's best for your people." and after that less than comforting speech, Cornelia hugged her half-sister's shoulders as best as she could, and sat in a row behind her. Through her tears, Nunally was surprised to see that her half-sister was wearing a dress, a rare thing for her. While her focus was elsewhere, the former Black Knights Ohgi, Viletta and Tamaki sat down somewhere near the back.

"Commander Ohgi!" Cornelia barked, standing up then striding across the small room. "Where is Captain Kozaki?"

"Lady Cornelia, she is unable to attend because of personal matters. Speaking of that, about the witch-"

"Commander, if you haven't noticed, I'm currently at my half-brothers funeral and would rather leave business matters until later."Cornelia dismissed.

"Forgive me, my lady. " He apologized, then made the command for the ceremony to begin, all the while grimly satisfied that no one from the public was attending.

As if on cue, a svelte woman with a concealed face entered quickly and accidently trod on the hem of Nunally's skirt. After excusing her, Emperor Lelouch's funeral began.

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><p>After a hasty ceremony and a final, teary "Goodbye onii-sama." Saiyoko ushered the new Empress from the room. Everyone was in such a hurry they didn't notice that only the veiled woman remained.<p>

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><p>Whe I'm typing this on the computer at school I feel like such a nerd. Also when we were talking about dictators in History, I think it's a bad thing that Lelouch was the first person to pop into my head. I figured out that as of now this story has over 400 hits...I dunno what that means but it seems like a good thing. Thank you for reading this far! Please write a review, as I want to know how I'm doing.<p> 


	4. Savior

don't own CG. :)

Chapter 4- Savior

CC

CC waited until the half-hearted ceremony was over, and once everyone left she prepared to say her final goodbye. She sneaked closer to the cloth covered table, and pulled back the sheet to got a good look at Lelouch's face. His beautiful violet eyes were closed and with his eyelashes brushing his cheekbones, she marveled at how peaceful he looked in death even with a sickly grey that painted his skin. She moved the white cloth back more from his body and realized with a jolt that he was wearing the same bejeweled robe he had died in, bloodstain and all. CC's cheeks flushing with anger at their careless disrespect, she saw that his hands weren't even folded on his chest, and no effort had been made to disguise the wound. _**The wound**_. She gently lay her hand on the sheet over the place where he had been impaled on his own sword, and allowed herself a few tears for her fallen comrade. _It's almost like it's my fault... I __**did **__make the contract with him that led to this._

Too lost in thought, it took her a while to notice the very, very, _very_ slight rise and fall of his chest, signaling the breath of life that still remained in the fallen Emperor.

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><p>After noticing it, CC gasped, and thinking herself crazy she kept her hand there for a few more seconds, still feeling the slight motion. New tears, this time of joy trickled down her cheeks, and keeping one hand on his chest she put the other one an hair's breadth above his closed mouth, hoping to detect the gentle streams of air that should be coming from his nose. Finding small inklings of warmth, she couldn't help a soft smile spreading on her tearstained face.<p>

Lelouch was not dead.

CC briskly tore the sheet off of his cold body, revealing his white robe that seemed to glow by the dim chapel's light. After gently tugging the fastenings on the front open and undoing it most of the way down, her eyes jumped to the would-be horrific wound, after lingering slightly on his fragile-looking body. _Perfect._ She thought, seeing that the spot where Lelouch had been impaled was no longer a raw, bloody hole, but instead a slim, rust coloured oval that matched the blade's shape perfectly.

"You're going to have a scar...the first death always leaves one." She said aloud, even though Lelouch was still way too weak to hear her.

The external damage on his skin was already minimal, but he **had**been stabbed clean through his stomach, and after seeing the replay of him flopping down the ramp, she guessed that his stomach had definitely been punctured, and at worst his spine partially severed. Recalling her too numerous to count deaths, she estimated it would at least be a few days before he regained consciousness, and maybe a week until he was one-hundred percent healed. Still almost disbelieving, she gently kissed his cold cheek, then eased his body out off of the table, and after carrying it bridal style a few feet she had to stop and rest, sweat beading on her forehead even though the room was cool. As his limp form was cradled in her arms, she struggled to keep any limbs from falling out her grasp, for they were soft and lax. Addressing her need to hurry, with an un-ladylike grunt she hoisted him in her arms and staggered towards the doorway

"And you say...I need...to lay off the...pizza." she complained as she floundered with the sheer length of his body. "You really...owe-" she gasped in shock as she lost her grip on him, and he fell to the floor with an awful _**THUMP!**_, cracking his head against the stone floor with a similar but more painful noise. CC cringed even more a the god-awful moan that oozed from his mouth. "Sorry Lelouch!" she sputtered as the point of his jaw that had struck the floor began to bleed slightly, a small rivet of crimson. W_ell that's more proof he's alive...a corpse doesn't moan or bleed_. She thought, bending over to scoop up his body once more and lifting him slightly. The folds of his fabulous robe had been getting in her way, so she begin to fumble with the fastens she had undone earlier when a harsh voice sliced through her concentration.

"How**dare** you! Desecrating His Majesty's body!"

Her head jerked up to see a lone soldier pointing his gun at her forehead.

"Get your hands off of him, you filthy necrophile. Empress Nunally will see you **killed** for defiling his sacred remains!" Fuming, CC tenderly lowered Lelouch onto the floor and stood up. She feigned putting her hands up, but instead grabbed the gun and twisted it swiftly from his grasp and threw it aside, where it landed with an clatter that echoed in the otherwise empty room.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked, shocked at her abnormal reflexes. CC wasted no time and grabbing his still outstretched hand, and the Geass sigil on her forehead blazing, sent paralyzing shock images into his brain, causing him to freeze in horror. CC dragged his body over to the black cloaked table, and put it where Lelouch had been previously resting. Grabbing the gun and Lelouch's body once again, with a great shove she heaved it over her shoulder unceremoniously, and made an awkward jog for the exit. She stopped briefly in an empty hallway, then took off the veil she had been wearing and put it on him, covering his face and hair. It certainly wasn't much, but.._.Who am I kidding?_ she asked herself, half panicking. H_ow in the world can I get him out of here? There are too many guards even if I do have a gun_..._guards._

Struck with an idea, she lugged his body, which grew heavier every minute, back to her starting point, and put him down once more, shoving the guard off of the black cloaked table. Taking he cloth, she arranged it like a sack around his body, so it looked roughly like a garbage bag. Of course on closer inspection you could see it was cloth, but if you were close enough *to* see that, CC wouldn't leave you conscience for long. Hoisting the cloth bundle and praying it wouldn't rip, she adjusted her speed to a brisk pace and set off towards the palace kitchen. Knowing it would be busy because of the crowning ceremony set to take place in a few days, she readied the gun, and hoping she wouldn't have to use it, shoved it in the bag with Lelouch.

When she reached the thankfully close swinging door that signified the kitchen's entrance, she dropped the bag in a corner near other trash bags and a service exit, wincing as another muffled cry come from inside. CC took of her jacket and hat and tossed them into the bag as well. Putting and apron she found hanging on a well peg over the white blouse underneath, she could squeak by as one of the lower kitchen attendants. Realizing how obvious she looked, and spotting two people walking down the hall she had just come from, she had no choice but to abort her plan of slipping through the service exit and face towards the corner and make herself look busy, recoiling as she smeared some unknown muck from one of the open bags on her cheek as a last-minute form of camouflage. It was revealed to be Saiyoko, and she was talking to one of the palace accountants. They were clearly intent on overseeing the kitchen's progress, and their only acknowledgement of her was an brief order.

"You. Kitchen girl. I don't want all of that crap lying around, so take it out back. Actually, just take the whole thing to the dump. I don't want smelly dumpsters at Empress Nunally's crowning ceremony, you hear?"

And with that the pair moved into the kitchen, no doubt to check out the scones they were so intently discussing. _That's better than I could have hoped for!_CC thought, and with that carried the few bags of trash, including the one carrying Lelouch out the service exit. Having no choice but to put them with the other bags in the industrial-sized refuse bin, she inwardly groaned at that dumpster diving she would have to do later. Luckily for her it was already set to go, and all she had to do was grab the keys and improvise. _Ok...I've driven one of these things before._ She thought, thinking all the way back to when the Black Knights had kidnapped Princess Tianzi. Turning the key in the ignition, she felt a little bad about the truck that was going to go missing, but shrugged off all of the regret when she thought of it's precious cargo.

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><p>Phew... I've been facepalming a lot about how she was going to get him out of there. Her plan is a bit precarious I know, but my only other option was to pull something out of nowhere and that never works well. Everyone can tell I'm a girl now because I said Lelouch's eyes are beautiful :3 Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as it took several re-formats. I'm a major procrastinator and what gets the wheels turning is reading the reviews and notices I get... it's a good form of pressure knowing people are waiting for more! Stay tuned for Chapter 5- <em>System.<em> The political screwery may take me a bit longer but don't expect a longer than normal wait. Thanks for reading!


	5. System

Chapter 5- System

Kallen

_Dammit._ Kallen could have sworn she had unplugged her alarm. Fully waking up and re accounting the previous day, just the terrible stress of first thinking she was going to be die but instead... Hands shaking slightly, and after a huge effort (_Kallen you have to live)_ she pulled herself out of her bed, her body still sticky with sweat and secret tears. Maybe her alarm hadn't woken her up after all, as the sun was bright and high in the sky, peering through the intricate window, its bright fingers feeling every corner of her room. _How can something be so normal if everything else is so...not? _

She wondered numbly, going through the familiar actions of a morning shower on auto pilot. After a too-long shower she thumped down the stairs, and out of habit flipped on the news, her pruned fingers sticking to the TV remote. **LELOUCH IS DEAD!** Every channel screamed, and as if punched in the face the only other words Kallen could absorb were that his funeral had taken place earlier this morning, and the world was happily on its way to a new era of peace, thank you very much. She even caught that the sword used in his murder was to be blessed and put in a museum. Dizzy from the bombardment of reminders, Kallen's face hardened into a cross between contempt and revulsion as her step-mother flounced in, and from her mussed hair ans smeared make-up she had obviously spent the night somewhere her husband wouldn't approve.

"Oh...it's **you**." Kallen grumbled from the suede couch, wishing for once her real mother was here. Cutting off her step-mom's no-doubt snide comeback, her cellphone lying on the mahogany coffee table rang with the special ringtone designated to Lelouch, or Zero. Quelling her surprise she briskly snapped it open with a hesitant "Hello?", half expecting Lelouch to be on the other end. Instead she was met with a breathless Ohgi.

"Kallen, I know it's quite soon but something really urgent has happened and you need to be at the Viceroy's Palace as soon as possible so a car will pick you up in an hour. Be ready by then." and with that he hung up.

_Apparently it's so urgent he can't even say good morning. _She thought, ignoring her hungover step-mom who was now feeling the effects of partying all night. Throwing on whatever clothes she first saw, she didn't even bother to check if they were suitable to go to meet nobility in. She killed the remaining time by searching for the pictures of her and the student council back when things weren't so messed up, and hastily tacked them to the cork board on her wall as she ran to catch the town car that was now waiting.

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><p>After being escorted into the meeting room by guards, she looked around the surprisingly empty meeting room. Seated was Xing-Ke, Ohgi and Tamaki. After barely sitting down in one of the many empty chairs, Ohgi commenced the meeting.<p>

"Thank you for joining us, Kallen." Ohgi voiced. "The incident we wanted to talk to you about is involving Lelouch and C2."

Xing-Ke piped up "We requested your presence because you were his personal bodyguard and went to the same school as him. And Empress Nunally said that you were close friends after talking when I had captured you." He added a bit smugly.

Ohgi continued "**Anyway**...you see, after his funeral this morning...well...his body is missing. We think it was C2 who did it, fo the theif apparently induced some sort of catatonia in the soldier stationed to guard his corpse, a state that is oddly similar to the ones documented in Suzaku Kururagi at the Japan Special Zone and Anya Alstriem on numerous occasions, all of which were induced by C2. And reviewing security footage, the only member of the public to attend the burial was one woman, and her face was covered so we never got a good look at her. Adding to the evidence is that an unknown kitchen worker stole some transportation property, never to be seen again. We can only assume it was her, as honestly, who else would care?"

A bit stung by the last remark but hiding it well, Kallen responded to this accusation with a tentative agreement. "I think you've got a few points there, but what purpose does a...dead body have?"

Tamaki said. "No matter what Ohgi says, we have no idea. Maybe to bury him somewhere else..who knows?"

"What I find interesting is that C2 would even bother, considering the incident that happened the night before he died." Met by confused looks, Kallen explained."I thought the whole palace knew, prisoners included... you don't?" Met by more blank looks, she explained. "Well, he and C2 apparently had this awful argument that made her just get up and leave. It was over something like her giving him an heir... she was refusing and Lelouch got so mad that he pushed her down the steps in the throne room." _Why? If you wanted Nunally to succeed you... _

The men didn't seem surprised. "Well I guess this **is** Lelouch we're talking about. I wouldn't put it past him to harm a defenceless woman. I bet he already-" commented Ohgi.

"Ok Ohgi, don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" Kallen snapped.

Tamaki just shook his head. "Damn...and I thought I knew the guy. I never thought of it that C2 was missing when he was killed, because personally I was a little worried about the fact I was going to my execution. So guys, what do we do now?"

"Well, all that matters is that the witch is missing, and even if they didn't get along all of the time, she still was Lelouch's accomplice. So instead of sitting around gossiping about their relationship let's put our efforts into finding her. This kid could be enormous wrench in our plans, and imagine how much of a nightmare figuring out how and where to raise it would be?" Ohgi asked. "Let's hope this is a false assumption."

"Only two problems." Kallen said. "That and we don't know her whereabouts. She could be anywhere!"

"That's where having you here comes in handy." Xing-Ke said, no doubt that he had already planned this.

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><p><em>Ok. Just make it quick<em>. Kallen steeled herslf as she began searching CC's room, which had been sectioned off. _Stupid Ohgi. Well, maybe not. At least they're making a girl search her room for clues instead of them._

Skimming briefly through the fancy and mostly unworn clothes in her dresser and skipping her underwear altogether, she found nothing that would help them find her whereabouts. She felt a bit bad about it, and not to mention creepy, but pushed those feelings aside while she looked.

The room was exquisite, but still modest in comparison to Lelouch's, with ornate furniture and a broad fireplace. Passing the chair that Lelouch had unknowingly sat in just the night before, she started looking a bit more thoroughly, determined to have something to show for her efforts. After finding nothing, and getting a tad exasperated, she irritably flung back the mussed comforter on CC's bed. Seeing nothing but a lonely looking Cheeze-kun, Kallen was about to give up when she looked a little closer, and found something that dissipated any guilt for her intrusion. Medium length, ebony hair...Lelouch's...lay amongst green ones on CC's pillow. Resisting the urge to fling them into fireplace, Kallen picked up the pillow and went to go show Ohgi, not being able to help feeling a bit betrayed.

After finding him, she thrust the pillow in his face.

"Kallen!...what do you have there?" he asking, holding the soft mass up to one of the lights nearby. After seeing the intermixed evidence, a too-smug expression grew on his face and Kallen snapped "Don't say 'I told you so!'"Tamaki made it worse by guffawing at the sight of their find.

"Well... at least we've got proof of _something._" Ohgi observed, much to everyone's annoyance.

* * *

><p>Heat licked Kallen's face as the last of the infamous pair's clothes and other possessions were set ablaze. Everyone else claimed to have business to attend to, and she sat alone watching the flames destroy their material things. She was trying to wrap her head around today's discoveries. <em>This isn't making any sense..Why would he-<em>

Seeing something glint in the dying rays of sunlight, Kallen shifted through the ashes to find the queen piece that had originally belonged to Lelouch. After looking around to see if anyone was watching, she hastily shoved it in her pocket, leaving the smoldering pile to burn to the ground.

* * *

><p>Phew! Chapter 5 already...(pats self on shoulder). I got a crazy energy boost from all the new story subscribers. When I get a new batch of support, well, sleep isn't a prioroty! I don't care that I wrote my AP final on 4 hours of sleep...WHEN I'VE GOTTA WRITE, I'VE GOTTA WRITE!, even if it is from 10 pm to 3 am. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for chapter 6...<em>Gravedigger. <em>It's already done and edited, but I feel like being mean and drawing out the suspense. (*slumps over onto keyboard and starts snoring*)

**UPDATE**: mega-paragraphs fixed!


	6. Gravedigger

Chapter 6-Gravedigger

Lelouch

All is dark.

Even darker than the crepuscular bleakness found at night, for then you would even have the stars. It was dark to the point where one could not even consider it 'black'. It was beyond a name; the enigmatic surroundings that overtook everything and nothing.

This was the colour of _death._

Some part of him recalled;

_...A long time ago I would cry because I was afraid of the things that could've been under my bed, and mother had assured me I was safe and sung me to sleep. As soon as she had been murdered and my sister and I had been banished to Japan, I had to abandon such puerile fears, and realized the monsters in real life were a lot scarier than the ones lurking under his bed._

_I had to keep Nunally safe._

Nunally.

_Where is she now?  
>Was is alright?<em>

Unknowingly, he stirred in his comatose stupor, and didn't feel the cool hand that stroked his face. He was shivering involuntarily and beads of cold sweat formed on his brow. His guardian hardly took note, only watching the pained look on his face shift with morbid curiosity.

The events of the last few days played through his numbed mind like they were on fast-forward, and he remembered her crying and screaming over him, tears mixing with the blood on his chest.

_Am I still dying?  
>It shouldn't take this long for the wound to kill me...<em>

_Nunally.  
>I've caused her so much pain... all she wanted in the end was for us to be together, not this...<em>

He wondered what "this" even was, and was assaulted with confusion when he remembered the unbearable pain of the sword going straight through his chest; first a slight prick, but almost instantly growing into a crescendo of agony with the cold slice of metal ripping through his body. A red rose spilled from his garments as the blade exited silently; and the pain was to the point where his mind could hardly comprehend it.

_Straight through my chest...I should be, or am already dead. If I'm not, that means that everything would have been for nothing. The world still lives in hatred..._

Feeling slight motion beneath him, Lelouch assumed he was being carried to a hospital.

_Please...just let me die now..._

Feeling a jarring impact and the warm release of blood inside his body, _"I can't be allowed to live!"_ bloomed in his mind like poisonous spores, and if he could move his mouth he would have screamed it. The long-desired fantasy of a happy world for Nunally to live in, for Euphie to have died for, just couldn't be snatched from his grasp at the last minute, and he hated himself for selfishly wanting to be included in it.

_Yearning for peace... if were to get it through violence and opposition as I did... then I wouldn't deserve it. NO, I did it for THEM! The methods I used were as bad as my enemy's, and for that I must pay the price._

His thoughts ceased like a candle being snuffed out, leaving nothing to penetrate the colour of death.


	7. Iesu Part I

Iesu Part I- Chapter 7

The Town of Shinseiu

On the third day after the Emperor Lelouch's death, a rickety cart rolled along a dusty road, carrying the body of the still-sleeping demon. Carefully buried in hay, he didn't feel the cart come to lurching halt, nor see the concealed figure get out of the driver's seat.

The village they had recently arrived in was far enough from the Tokyo Settlement to risk stopping their journey, and having gone without food since a crappy piece of pizza so long ago, the woman was starving. Orange trees shaded the road, and seeing a nice, pleasant farm town and hoping they'd have a roof over their heads tonight, she knocked on the door of the first house. Its resident opened the door irritably, and denied her request for lodging. Trying again, she pleaded at the next house.

"My brother is sick and injured, so we need a place to stay. Please, just for one night. I'll even pay to have my horse-" After being rudely interrupted, the occupants claimed to have enough sick to take care of and slammed the door in her face. CC didn't bother wasting time moping at yet another failure and moved on while she had time.

Finally, the sun bloated and red, after asking for shelter all day, out of desperation she ditched the cart and horse which could almost be considered a vacant stable; empty except for the bright yellow hay and its sweet musk.

Checking for people, the demon's body was carried like a doll out of the cart, cold and unresponsive. He was arranged with his once-magnificent robes spread out, protection from the hay's sharp needles. The ethereal cloth looked like broken wings; a fallen angel with blood and filth tainting his once pure being. The pained grimace on the his face never faded, and the woman watched him, waiting and hoping for a flicker of awareness. Hours later, she finally fell into a dreamless sleep, in which she didn't notice violet eyes, unfocused and weary, opening to witness the birth of the night's first star.

* * *

><p><span>Night Before the Requiem<span>

CC sat on her bed, dozing slightly from the fireplace's breath. Hearing a knock on the door, and knowing only one person who'd come to see her, she issued a quiet "Come in." To no surprise, in walked the Emperor, though when the door closed, it was just Lelouch. His visits were frequent, and they didn't care who knew that. Looking exhausted and running a hand through his hair, he greeted her and walked over to a chair by the fire, lying back with his eyes closed as the flames soothed his body.

"If you're going to sleep at least take off your shoes." CC said, immediately getting up to do just that. She smiled after she undid them, but then decided to take off more than promised. After all, he was sitting pretty close to the fireplace, and it _would_ be rather undignified for his robes to catch ablaze. Her careful hands ever so lightly removed the long sashes hanging over his shoulders, an intimate expression spreading on her face when his lack of retaliation dawned upon her.

As the white robes piled up around the two, CC's fingers ran down the edges of Lelouch's smooth features, probing the sharp curves of his nose, the slope of his jawbone, and the circumference of his neck. As her arms wrapped around his shoulders, he unexpectedly drew her even closer with the grace of a swan, gently circling her shoulders with weary arms. Removing most of the emperor's garnets seemed to lift a tremendous weight off of them both, and CC adjusted herself so her head lay on his too-sharp collarbone, her body on his rested, not willing the strength to move, aching and sore from the hell happening around them.

"It will all be over..." he said, the unsaid '_tomorrow' _hanging in the air like mist, choking them. He nuzzled CC's head like an affectionate beast, kissing her face as though her skin were the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He felt CC shiver with his touch and he smiled. His lips finally connected with the immortal witch's and they finally met, her tongue exploring his warm mouth. Unwilling to let go of each other, they shuffled over to the top of her bed, pushing aside the tangled sheets. After a few minutes, they released each other to catch a few breaths, and within that time they finalized their plan for CC's escape, absorbing each other's pulse through their remaining clothes.

"You should hide in the Shinjuku ghetto." Lelouch thought out loud while further loosening the straps of her straitjacket. "If anyone goes looking for you, which is a scenario I'm counting on, there are tons of places to disappear. Also, they won't suspect you being right under their nose."

Agreeing with this, CC added "And as an excuse for me to leave we could pretend that we had a fight or something. So..." she added teasingly, pinning him under her. "What are we going to fight about?"

Laughing at his obvious embarrassment, she rolled off of the bed and fixed the undone belts that had made lying down more comfortable. Lelouch reluctantly sat up and gazed back at the witch, slightly longing, but otherwise unfazed. "Something dramatic." he proposed. "It needs to show how much of a monster the Demon Emperor is. I can pretend to be in one of those foul moods often put on by your typical dictator."

CC shrugged while chuckling lightly at his joke.

After a few different schemes, they settled on him pretending to demand an heir from her, and then throw her down the stairs in anger. "I'm sorry in advance. You need to be in good shape to 'run away', so the stairs in the throne room will be fine..." Pausing for a moment, he asked, " Are you sure you're alright with this CC?"

"A little bruising won't hurt that much. Now all we need are witnesses." CC replied. "Would that part of the palace be busy?"

Struck by how they were casually planning a violent confrontation, Lelouch replied, "No, but we could easily attract some by yelling at each other. After all, the perfect dictator needs an heir to the throne. Our 'disagreement' would also start a fear of the fake child succeeding me, all better the reason to drive out a potential mother."

"A child out of wedlock? How scandalous!" smirked the witch, poking fun at him.

Returning her smile, Lelouch realized he had another reason to wish his days weren't numbered. With an exasperated sigh, Lelouch got out of bed and picked up his ornate sash along with the other discarded robes on the floor. The fire flickered in his eyes and for one moment, he thought that his robes might actually catch on fire.

That would have been rather undignified.

CC got up, and after crossing a wide expanse padded into the ornate bathroom and placed a glob of liquid soap in her hand. She was absolutely positive that she would regret this soon, but this was the only way she could make this argument look more believable. Just before she put the soap into her eyes, she glanced back at Lelouch, who had joined her. His clothes were slightly askew and his hair mussed, ruining the regal effect of his outfit. Fixing them so that he looked formidable enough, CC led him to the throne room where their altercation would begin.

Lelouch glanced once at the green-haired witch before he cracked his neck and cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"

CC, eyes red and weepy from the soap she'd rubbed in them, nodded in agreement, and her escape from the palace began, just as according to plan. Starting the 'fight', Lelouch grabbed her slim shoulders in what he hoped was an iron death-grip.

"You're barely even squeezing me, and it looks like we're going to hug. Hold me much tighter." CC ordered, a small smirk gracing her lips.

"Right." Lelouch answered, completely serious about the situation. As soon as his knuckles were turning white and shaking from the strain, they began their overdramatic bickering. CC started crying loudly and begging for him to let go of her, drawing the attention of anyone within earshot. Lelouch's moment in the spotlight came after a decent sized crowd had gathered, and frozen in place they witnessed him start shaking her violently, his teeth gnashing.

"You...How **DARE** you defy the great Britannian Emperor, you filthy witch!" he bellowed, his knuckles burning from their hold. CC did a good job of sobbing even louder, causing the spectators to grow even greater in number. There was even that hidden layer of agony that only added to the effect. Lelouch's nails were digging into her skin and if she weren't already crying from the burn of the soap, the pain from his grip would probably be enough to trigger tears.

_"_What _is_ this...a wretched and self-centered,no, thoughtless refusal? You should be grateful! Having my child would be an honour! AN HONOUR!" For more dramatic effect he punctuated the final statement by shoving her (_Sorry CC)_ down the platform steps, where she collapsed into a heap of more hysterical sobs, holding the area where his hands had been and staining the carpet with her soapy tears. "You know what? I'm _sick_ of you playing temptress, and your denial of my basic rights! Get OUT of here!" Lelouch dramatically pointed to the doors as though casting out an evil sprit. He continued on with a loathsome hiss "I never want to see you again... and if I do, you will be killed with no regret!"

Fighting an enormous urge to rush to her side and burst out laughing, Lelouch made a move as if to climb down the steps and 'harm' her even more. He stalked down the stairs menacingly, but a few of the braver people in the audience sprinted up and held him back from doing any more damage. Their touch on his person was still too light to truly hold him back if he really were angry, but he allowed them to protect CC that easily.

"Your Majesty, please!" they pleaded, almost afraid to touch him. "That's enough!"

However, he hardly heard them as his attention was completely focused on CC.

"_Goodbye..."_ he silently thought as the terse CC was hastily escorted out by a few nervous guards. Putting the candles on the cake, he let out a last roar. "You will be **KILLED**, wretched scum!"

Apparently CC had caught on, because he heard one last wail as she was moved out of earshot.

Erasing the loss from his face, Lelouch quickly replaced it with a look of fury even more poisonius, and his restrainers backed up several feet. _If it's a show you want, it's a show you'll get. Emperor Lelouch is going out with a bang. _He thought, somehow getting a sick sense of enjoyment out of his performance. Continuing the show, he acted as if bone-weary, and staggered to his throne, and laguidly, _Behold the Emperor in all of his glory!_, flicked off his contacts and gave orders to the nearest and most unfortunate bystander.

"You. Turn that into firewood." he snarled, gesturing to CC's smaller throne. "And don't stop until every bit is the size of a match." the poor person, unable to resist, began breaking the chair into chunks with their bare hands, which were soon bloody from the effort. Using the last of his will to force a sound that passed as laughter, Lelouch savoured the appalled faces looking up at him.

_See what you're going to miss?_

* * *

><p>This overall piece was so huge I'm going to publish it separately. Stay tuned for <em>Iesu...Part II. <em>


	8. Iesu Part II

Chapter 8- Iesu Part II

Lelouch

_Weak_.

Something in his brain accused him. Lying on the floor, the cold stone soothed his skin, raw from being scrubbed bright red. Soap and scalding water being the only available remedy, Lelouch hated to admit that he missed his partner; her comfortable shape, cheeky comments and soft skin.

The best ally anyone could have.

_Well, you're never going to see her again._ the annoying voice taunted.

"Shut up." Lelouch said weakly, appalled by his weakness. In his anger, he hardly noticed himself digging his nails into the soft flesh of his palms. _Alright. In 5 seconds you're going to get up off the floor and act like nothing is amiss. Like you're not killing yourself tomorrow. Like you're the king of the world...the king of the world..._ he repeated to himself, drawing his robe as tight as it would go.

Catching sight of the ornate clock, Lelouch broke his mantra to let the fact that he had only twelve hours to live sink in, the fact which threatened to drive him mad. The only things keeping his already shaky facade from completely self-destructing were the promises that came with his fast-approaching death.

_In twelve hours I'll die, but that also means in twelve hours Nunnally will be free, the world as it is will be destroyed, and nobody will remember Lelouch vi Britannia. He'll just be a name in a history book and the name on a stone in the graveyard._

Seeing his embarrassingly puffy-eyed face in the large mirror that adorned his wall, Lelouch thought that had he not known that his time for payment is tomorrow, he would have attacked the unfamiliar phantom reflected there. With it was a body that would cease all function tomorrow, and be lowered in the ground soon after. Along his thin arms, blue veins branched through his muscles that appeared small, but instead were carrying the weight of the world, a burden that would soon be lifted.

Examining his face, Lelouch thought he already looked like a ghost on the plains of Hell, and still didn't regret going without food for his last day. The claws of hunger dug deeper into his stomach_. I shouldn't eat anything, as it would likely show itself when Suzaku stabs me. _Lelouch's stomach clenched at the though of a blade passing through it. The animal instinct hardwired in his brain and activated as panic kicked up, lending him superhuman strength to run fight escape kill hide. The human side argued, _There's nowhere to hide from time._

Wondering what to do with himself, he tried finding a task to pass the remaining hours before nightfall. Out of habit, he did something unbelievably mundane for the ruler if the world; he started sorting through his clothes, empty shells that could come with so much meaning otherwise. Under his old Ashford uniform, _(things have changed so much)_ he found that old ratty shirt that was a favourite of CC's.

Moving to throw it away, he realized it still carrying her scent from when she had last worn it. Bringing his thoughts back a subject he was trying to circumvent, he wondered. _If she is caught, which I hope she isn't, will she have the sense to say she's pregnant? _That idea had been easy to sow in the minds of the palace residents, nurtured by her often getting 'caught' sneaking into his room at night and the general notoriety of the two.

Not in the mood for terrorizing staff and thinking he had been enough of a monster today, he forced himself to wear his kingly pajamas for the last time, the space in his enormous bed sometimes filled by a certain witch seeming to grow in the darkness. The sensual aroma of her still lingered in her normal spot, and he scooted in it as if he could absorb it. Starlight saturated the fitfully sleeping man, the pool a much different colour then the one that would soak him tomorrow.

* * *

><p>The next morning, on the day of the Requiem's completion, time seemed to go almost as fast as Lelouch's heart. Each beat, a taken-for-granted pulse of life, pumped the very blood that would soon be bled from his veins and prevent the same for others. The normally crisp air was icy against the thin film of nervous sweat that betrayed his placid expression, his exterior every bit Lelouch vi Britannia, 99th Emperor and ruler of the world.<p>

However, beneath the mask he was tired of pretending, lying, and causing pain.  
>To others, the world, and even to himself.<p>

A growing sensation of dread bubbled in his stomach as he strode gracefully up the last set of stairs he would ever climb, taking every single detail in like a starving man; the bright heat of the sun, the smell of grass and morning chill. The dimming autumn colours that stained the flowers seemed vibrant and in his head a replay button. _There's no turning back now._ he thought as the float, complete with the prisoners and Nunnally, slowly lurched forward.

Lelouch scanned the scene, catching sapphire eyes that finally could see; a pair of eyes that made him long to cry with joy. _Nunally. _Lelouch ignored the sharp tug in his chest and gave her a nasty sneer for good measure, denying the very same brotherly instinct that had gotten him this far. He couldn't stand to see the expression she would have responded with, so he focused his eyes on the enormous hordes of people that wanted him dead.

"See what happens when you defy the mighty Demon Emperor, **Lelouch vi Brittania!**" He had declared on the news. Decreeing that this 'execution' was mandatory viewing had assured that everyone under his rule was watching the whole thing on TV at this moment. _It's somebody else's execution they'll be watching._

Surveying the crowd, he could easily feel the tangible disgust and anger that radiated from them; he knew his job was done. Facing the crowd as death appeared on the horizon, he plastered a fake expression of shock on his face. For some reason his hands curled into fists, and the throne on which he sat seemed to morph into a sacrificial altar, attracting the blood of innocents.

The very heart that had kept him alive could only twitch erratically as his life was pumped out for the world to see. The crimson stain spread further on his dishevelled clothes, the pure white boiling to a hellish red.

A centuries-long fall, coming to rest in the arms of his sister. The jarring realization that their ruler, the man known to almost all as the evilest one ever, was indeed made of flesh and blood like everybody else. It was hard to accept that he wasn't a demon as he claimed, but was simply a mortal who like all had some shred of weakness, a debility as simple as his body; so fragile in the act of dying, fell from his high and mighty perch.

._N-Nunnally...so beautiful..._

_Don't be sad..._

_It's for ...the best..._

The air meant to be absorbed by his evacuating blood formed the words, the words that went unheard to everyone but his sister. Her tears and his blood amalgamated and became building blocks for the future. Feeling a heavy weight on his eyelids

..._I can rest..._

"I destroyed the world...and created.. anew..."

His eyelids gradually made their final journey downward, closing slowly as if from weariness. A gentle breeze rattled through the dead-silent streets, the world chained in place where he fell; an angel from Heaven.

...o_ne._

The colour of death took over where his thoughts would have been, washing away any strain of consciousness, not hearing the screams of the one person who truly cared.

* * *

><p>Sorry it took so long to update. It's my last week of school and there was lots of crap to do. I cried when I wrote the last couple sentences, and posted a depressing bit from the next chapter on Facebook and all of the people who commented on it wondered if I was ok :) I'm not going to write so much in Author's Notes anymore because I feel like I'm talking to myself. Stay tuned for the next one... <em>Questions<em>


	9. Questions

Chapter 9- Questions

Suzaku

A strange display presented itself, juxtaposing the ordinary and extraordinary.

A black-cloaked man with a menacing mask over his face was sitting with one leg over the other holding a newspaper as he sat on a cushy chair by an unremarkable table like any other ordinary citizen. His form was casual and relaxed, unlike before where his position called him to remain tense and calculating at all times. Suzaku Kururugi, the man underneath the mask, wore the costume of former terrorist leader but now was doing such a pathetically banal task; enjoying a morning read.

The former Knight of Zero only bothered to read the newspaper because of the picture gracing the front. It was of Lelouch, his arm draped seductively around a sneaky-looking CC. The picture, obviously conveying the light they were going to be portrayed in, must have been taken at a strange time, for he wasn't even looking at the camera. The dull acceptance that this is how things were going to be for a while still hadn't taken root; he had to force himself to read the printed words, the black ink searing holes in the page.

...former 'Demon' Emperor Lelouch, though recently dead, seems to have already assured his reign of terror to continue through an heir. "He was always sneaking around with her." says S. Tamaki, a former good friend.

The woman in question is none other than a dangerous individual known by the initials 'C.C'. After breaking into the Viceroy's Palace during his funeral, she reportedly shot an unarmed guard with his own gun and stole valuable equipment; the nature of which is unknown. It is assumed that she did this to kidnap and torture the soon to-be-crowned Empress Nunally, then assuring her and Lelouch's unborn child succession to the throne.

"We must find her and...Lelouch's heir." said Lady Cornelia, speaking for the first time about her half-brother in public. "Undeniable evidence of romantic liaisons between the two has forced us to conclude such a child exists. Its existence would prevent (sic.) Empress Nunnally from properly succeeding the throne as a direct descendant would be in line before her."

Several witnesses can even attest to the deceased monarch brutally attacking the defenceless C.C the night before his assassination, demanding an heir from her. "(Lelouch) clawed her arms, threw her to the floor and proceeded to beat her as hard as he could. When (other witnesses) had finally pulled him off of her, Lelouch banished her from the palace then took his wrath out on us." says a witness, preferring to go unnamed.

However, the palace and its affiliates assure that no harm would come to C.C if she were indeed pregnant when captured, for she would contained, monitored and given proper medical treatment while still remaining a prisoner. "We do not want to be murderers like its father." says K. Ohgi, former Deputy Commander of the Order of the Black Knights and soon to-be-named Prime Minister of Japan. "The child has a right to not be put to blame for its parents' crimes."

C.C's origins and past are unknown; seeing as her appearance as the emperor's mistress occurred shortly after he was crowned. "She was obviously just taking care of his needs for money or personal gain...they hated each other. There was no love there, and we can only guess who was being taken advantage of, C.C for intimacy or Lelouch for support." says a palace insider.

Nevertheless, C.C must be located to "ensure Lelouch's diabolical spawn never leaves the government's sight, and only when she is captured may peace be ensured." Cornelia claims. However, just finding C.C may not be enough.

"His wealth and... power made him quite the lady-killer." says one palace attendant. "There was some innuendo that he had paid to keep his _other_ mistresses quiet." Palace reps. could not be reached about those claims. Emperor Lelouch is known for his increase of les majeste laws and holding the world hostage with FLEIJA warheads. He is now buried on a plot reserved for royalty per request of his sister. Is it not known whether his remains will be moved to Britannia or not.

Putting the newspaper down and feeling more than a little repulsed, Suzaku laughed bitterly.

"Diabolical spawn, huh?" he chuckled under his breath; the voice alteration embedded in his mask caused it to sound raspy and undefined. "That's a good one. Even you didn't even expect for them to make up that mistress crap." Pausing a bit, he then mentally retorted, "_I guess it turns out you didn't have to do so much after all, Lelouch. Just let these people's imagination run wild and they'll make you into whatever they want_."

Setting his coffee cup down, Suzaku got up from the chair he was sitting in. "_Bringing CC into this is one thing, but jumping to such conclusions about Lelouch is another."_ he thought, sad his friend was again being slandered with false accusations. "_Well I guess that's what he hoped for, and what he'll get."_

Stretching his sore muscles, he walked over to the floor-length windows that looked out into the viceroy's palace grounds; the same area where he was currently staying.

At first he had declined the invitation, but then after realizing he had nowhere else to go, he reluctantly accepted it; an act that did wonders for Nunnally's popularity as soon as it was known that Zero was staying in her castle. Some gossipmongers were even whispering about an engagement, a union of the nation's ruler to its saviour. Glancing at the mask that always seemed to be watching him, Suzaku was already haunted by the truth of Lelouch's last words to him.

_You will sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of living_...

And sacrifice he truly became, as the only people he could interact with like a normal person were those that knew his true identity. Regrettably, that was a grand total of one, and even that person was currently stone dead. It was as though Suzaku Kururugi were truly dead after all.

"_He is. He's buried right beside where Lelouch— Wait..."_ He had heard about the minuscule turnout for the funeral, and how his body had mysteriously disappeared afterwards. "_Why..? This doesn't make any sense. And then there's that whole heir business... I don't get it. Why would he get her pregnant if he intended Nunnally to succeed him? Is she even pregnant? Lelouch, what the hell have you done?"_

Startled by the knock at the door, he let the damned pages fall to the floor.

"Zero?" A small feminine voice called out hesitantly. "It's E-Empress Nunally." The girl's voice pealed like a bell, easily audible through the thick doors. Suzaku scrambled for the mask and its voice changer. He ignored the feeling of Lelouch's body resisting the blade as it cleaved through bone, muscle and skin which still resonated through his arms. He noticed the slight shaking still hasn't gone away, and putting it over his face he replied in the distorted cadence of Zero.

Suzaku jumped in front of the door, quickly corrected himself, and held up Zero's mask to his face in order to enable the voice alteration device in order to speak. He kept the door closed; he was unready. "Good morning, Your Majesty. My greatest thanks for your generosity." Suzaku tried to forget how the blood of the real Zero had spread over his arms, a burst of hot liquid, once smeared with the dying man's hand on the now sparkling mask.

"You're welcome..." she took a breath."Suzaku."

The mask dropped out of his hands in shock; it clattered to the floor and he choked out, "N-Nunnally? How did... how do you know?" Opening the door slowly for her wheelchair, she entered the room, her eyes spilling over with tears. A tremendous pressure had been released, and now it was capable of going somewhere. The door slammed shut, leaving them alone.

"I don't know!" Nunnally blurted out. "I saw things, as he... as he died. Weird pictures that I'd never seen before flashed through my head like... visions or something. And I saw him... I saw him...!" Almost too upset to continue, she fought back more tears.

Zero bent down in front of her wheelchair by her legs and kept his head down. His emerald eyes formed tears that dripped down and mixed with the young vi Britannia; the salty water washing the sins off of both of their hands. Suzaku's outstretched hands, gentle and assured like her brothers were...

* * *

><p><strong>"ZE-RO! ZE-RO!"<strong>

The crowd seemed to scream at her, ungrateful and unknowing of the noble sacrifice they had just seen before them. Like an appeased god, the imposter rose, and seeming to feed on the crowd, and flicked the_innocent...pure...brave_... blood of the slain Emperor, on the ground.

"Brother! ...Brother! Don't leave me! No... _LELOUCH_!"

"_Nunally...I love you..."_he had said ever so softly, the sense of goodbye emanating from his dying words.

_NO! He can't be dying! Not my brother... it's not fair!_

"It's not fair!"

_It can't be..._

"WHY?"

_I can't bear it..._

"Don't leave me..."

_I can't...I can't... without you I can't..._

"All that I wanted was to be with you!"

_...You're the only person I will ever love..._

His eyes closing, what she hopes wasn't a sigh escaping his lips. The words that were only for her and would stay burned in her memory forever.

"I destroyed the world...and created... anew..."

_Not those beautiful eyes; please no. They deserve to be alive with joy, not closing as your life bleeds out...please, look at me, please, just open them..._

"Don't leave me!"

_Stay awake!_

"Brother! Don't leave me!"

_Stay..._

_My brother...lying there, dead, someone is taking me away, off his cold body. I'm leaving now... he'll never follow. Lying there...a bundle of bloody clothes and surreally topped with my brother's pale, greying face, the beautiful purple eyes I've had seen for the first time in too long now closed forever, never again seeing the stars the moon the sky..._

* * *

><p>Forced to let go of the hands that had dried her tears, stroked her cheek and brushed its fingers through her hair, slowly getting colder and colder as the stillness of death infected them with its crushing finality. The sure, strong arms carrying her away promised the future, a new life, but she'd much rather be in the dead ones now that were now feeding worms.<p>

Back in present time, she shrieked, "Don't touch me!" she screamed out automatically, pushing his hands away. Suzaku wanted to assure her that her brother had been a great man and would be missed, but they both knew those were lies.

"You killed my brother." The flatness in her voice was more unsettling then when she was upset. Nunnally looked him in the eye this time. "You're a murderer. You killed—" Clenching her fist in fury, she was shaking with anger or sadness or both.

"—your best friend. You killed your best friend. And now you have none, because you're supposed to be dead." Those words had been tossed around, over and over in his mind, and hearing them aloud it hit him like an evil epiphany all over again.

"I have to see you because you're Zero and I'm going to be the Empress." she continued. "But I'll never forgive or trust you. Ever. In fact, I hope you live a long life, forced to live with the atrocity of your crimes, all alone; a dead man like you were supposed to be. "

Shocked, Suzaku shot back to his own defence. "Nunally... Do you think I enjoyed it?" he hissed darkly. "Lelouch was my best friend! He did know what he was doing though. I know it's tough to see all of this...disparagement, but that was his plan. At least a handful of people know that, and in a way that's enough, y'know? He told me, as he gave me the mask, that Geass was like a way to attain the impossible...a wish. And in a way, he did. The world is at peace now, all thanks to him." Putting the mask up to his face, testing its weight, he said in tones previously unheard from the robotic Zero.

"I don't even feel like Zero. It's like he's a separate being from me. I may have his mask, his cloak, his name, but all I have are mere items. Zero is a symbol of peace; I, Suzaku Kururugi, only associate with war and strife. I... it's another one of your onii-sama's paradoxes, I'm afraid." Suzaku gave up on trying explaining the conflict and slumped over, sighing outwardly.

Nunnally's body language didn't change, but she did seem less upset. Sensing the change of atmosphere, Suzaku did something unexpected of him; he gave the soon-to-be Empress an awkward half-hug. His movements were sluggish and hesitant all the while proving to be rather difficult to wrap around her waist completely. It took him a few air tries to try and figure out how to do this; he retracted his arms every second in fear that he may hurt the little vi Britannia. Nunnally didn't fight back against the motion and allowed the chestnut-haired Japanese boy to carry about his wish anyway, watching his movements with an innocent curiosity.

However, just as he had finally found a way to carry out and put his hands on her did the door explode open to a furious Ohgi. Obviously responding to her scream, seeing Suzaku's hand on her shoulder, and the tears on Nunnally's face, he bolted over to Nunnally's side "Get your hands off of her!", shouted Ohgi as he shoved Suzaku backward and knocking the mask from his hands.

"Empress Nunally are you all right?" he had his back to Suzaku, and when she assured him that nothing bad had happened, he turned to Zero to ask him what he had been doing. Suzaku, scrambling to pick up the mask, was too late, and Ohgi saw who the new Zero really was. His face paled and an indescribable expression formed on his awe. Confusion. Anger. Disbelief.

"_S-S-Suzak-ku_? How...? What..? You killed Lelouch? ...You killed Lelouch! Why? Why did you... Did he...? What? It can't be you! You're dead!" He looked like he had been punched and the stomach. All of the colour had been drained from Ohgi's face to the point where he could most likely pass off as a Britannian at the moment.

Suzaku sighed, this couldn't possibly be happening to him. For a split second, he wished he had Lelouch's Geass to wipe their minds and take back what happened. "It really is me. The Knight of Zero." He paused slightly. "No, actually now just Zero."

"W-Why?" Ohgi whispered like a girl sharing her biggest secret. Suzaku got up and walked Ohgi over to the chair by the table where he had been sitting a few moments ago. The newspaper was still open to the article about Lelouch and the two gave it a glance before speaking once again. "Were you Zero before and Lelouch your cover or something?" After he had calmed down considerably, it hit him.

The lightning bolt realization dawned upon the soon-to-be Japanese Prime Minister accompanied by sheer horror that 99th Emperor Lelouch had indeed not been a monster, but instead was the greatest kind of hero. The kind one who got no credit for his martyrdom, and would be remembered by the brilliant illusion his carefully planned actions had only encouraged, lying to everyone until the end.

_"You've all been pawns in my game..."_

The nagging feeling of being manipulated didn't matter when Ohgi replayed their battle against him, and the Black Knights' attempts at an execution by the firing squad. When they had watched him in his rampage of destruction and reacted with hatred, unknowingly it had all been according to Lelouch's plan. The amazement that Lelouch could get up one day with his intent to die, to accept the fact that his name would almost be an equivalent to a curse word, to have people smile while remembering his murder and smirk when they passed a certain bloodstained sword.

"Nunnally... Suzaku. You mean... he planned this all along? He killed himself for the world... just like that?" Ohgi was having a hard time accepting it. "Do you know what this means? Any number of things he did could have been false too... this might have something to do with his missing body!"

Nunnally apparently had not heard about his body's disappearance. "What?" Nunnally exclaimed. "His body is missing? Why didn't anyone tell me this? I'm his sister!"

Ohgi answered. "Well, it was a tough decision, but Cornelia and I decided not to tell you because we thought that closure would be good for you. He's dead, Nunnally. This is just some rouge grave-robber we can easily catch."

An awkward silence dropped into the room as the three delved in their thoughts. Nunnally held in her tears as she said, "Excuse me. I have to go now." The princess left the room in hurry. She didn't escape fast enough for her sobs to go unheard.

Ohgi turned to Suzaku. "Anyway, there's something I'd like to ask you." Ohgi twiddled his thumbs nervously before he steeled himself up and looked into the observant emerald eyes Suzaku possessed. "You were Lelouch's best friend, right? Is there anything you could tell me about him and C2? We really need to find her, and as you know if the Emperor's heir exists it will be a major threat to Nunnally, and possibly all of Britannia's future."

Suzaku figured that the newspaper article on open on the table they sat by at the moment brought the topic up or Ohgi had already intended on asking him Suzaku thought carefully before speaking. "He didn't say anything about her being his baby's mother or whatever. All that I know is that they were pretty close. When we went to school together she was even in his life then. Yeah... he and Nunnally lived together in the clubhouse, and I think she was there too because Kallen and I saw her around campus every once and a while."

Looking surprised, Ohgi responded. "Kallen knew that? I'll ask her about it then..." He dragged the sentence out, still deep in thought. He had a look on his equivalent to one someone may find on Lelouch when predicting chess moves in his mind. "We're having a meeting soon about Nunnally's crowning ceremony and this matter. I think Zero should join us, don't you?"

Suzaku nodded without further debate. "Right. I'll be there."

* * *

><p>Lelouch's grave was located near the back of the land, and had already been defaced in several ways. The luminescent marble had been smeared with spray-paint and graffiti and it already had the sad air of neglect the other stones lacked. The still-fresh dirt had been dug up very recently, for it had been spilled over the side of its allotted space, leaving a messy dusting of earth around it. It was supposed to be buried at a secret location for that very reason. A simple, non personal message adorned its face.<p>

"Lelouch vi Britannia. December 5, 2000 a.t.b-".

The rest was scratched out.

* * *

><p>All righty. I have a question...when Lelouch, CC and Suzaku were chillin' and suddenly Lelouch starts gasping and clutching his chest, what the heck happened? I mean, was that a little scream of joy or something? And then his 'sword' Suzaku throws him on the floor and sweeps off with his pimped-out cape. What. the. Heck. Anyway, the 10th chapter, the one you've all been waiting for...<em>Dead Man Walking <em>is next_._

Please enlighten me about Lelouch's joy-scream and leave a review, as those expedite the next chapter. Kreion, you are smart:)


	10. Dead Man Walking

**Author's Note:**

I strongly believe Lelouch didn't die in the anime, but because the third season is called "Akito of the Ruined Land" I assume he's not in it. I hope I can resurrect such an incredible character with words instead of animation, for after all he did get the Code. On the other hand he wouldn't be alive, because you can't live if you can't die. (Ooh, prophetic!)

Anyways, I've had an awesome time writing this so far and don't plan to quit this story any time soon. The update schedule won't change, but I am branching out to different genres. Thank you for reading this far, and to PXLight as well, because it wouldn't be nearly as good without her help. I'm happy with how much I wrote but it took over five hours of editing to get it like this. Five. Freaking. Hours. Lelouch's perspective is fun to write from, though I actually have scared myself a few times...

* * *

><p>Chapter 10- <em>Dead Man Walking<em>

Lelouch

Because C.C. had stayed at her spot and watched him for hours, she had finally fallen asleep just around the time when he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was extreme discomfort, for the fetid robes had seemingly fossilized with his own sweat and blood, and on top of that reeked of garbage. Frustration was the first lucid emotion he felt, thinking back to the hazy dream that seemed like years ago.

_This isn't a hospital..._

His body had been positioned so that it reclined on a soft pile of something, and it felt like it had fallen asleep.

Numb.

Panicking, he tried to stand, or at least wave his arm, but everything remained motionless like a bag of cement. He wasn't capable of budging even an inch, as if his body were somehow disconnected. The angle allowed him to survey what appeared to be a small stable, containing nothing but golden hay. Swallowing his panic, he forced his already accelerated breathing to a calmer rhythm.

He shifted his stiff purple orbs to continue examining his surroundings. Adding to his relief was a green-haired woman dressed in tattered clothes, fast asleep and covered in coarse straws. After a monumental effort, he forced his mouth to form a name, cool and comfortable on his lips.

"C-c..2?" Lelouch rasped out, his voice strangled from misuse. He was glad it wasn't loud enough for her to hear; the sound he made was a disgrace. It took a few tries to make everything even sound somewhat close to what he was going for.

"C.C.!" A little more than a pathetic mewl this time.

She stirred a little, and then grudgingly opened her eyes. Sleep faded from them as they melted to a soft liquid gold, tears glittering at their corners. The ancient immortal welcomed the newborn one into his new life by gently enfolding him in an embrace similar to Nunnally's, except this time it was tears of joy and relief being shed.

The witch just repeated "I knew...I knew it.." as Lelouch, like the first time he had been born into this world, cried too, both of them grieving their losses until Lelouch's chest protested against the strain of her grip and stopped abruptly. The starlight that filtered through a hole in the roof illuminated the tears on both of their faces, like dewdrops on a flower's petal.

"Apparently you've inherited your father's Code." CC sniffed as she released him. She shivered as she did her best to regain her cool composure. "I was stupid not to realize that before. Obviously everyone thinks you're dead...and we've got to keep it that way or else everything would have been for nothing, and you know that." she said, already predicting what he was going to say next, knowing which person was always on his mind.

"Nunnally-" he began, but she interrupted.

"Nunnally is in the process of replacing you as an Empress, so no; you cannot tell her you're alive. Let's not to mention the complications of going to see her... Just imagine how she'd feel. She has to accept the fact that you are dead, a form of closure that will help her become strong enough to rule in your place."

Analytical mind scrambling, he realized that may have been a miscalculation on his part. Not really wanting to hear the answer, Lelouch forced down the question that had been festering in his mind like an open wound. He should have known that his little sister, gentle and pure as she was, hadn't let the desire to hate and hurt drown out the love that would never go away. She would have accepted, like him with the Massacre Princess, that nobody would remember him in an anywhere near positive light as the murderous Demon Emperor.

C.C., sensing Lelouch's need for silence had left his side and had nestled down in a nearby haystack, as not to hurt him when she slept. She remained silent, her mind still racing after seeing Lelouch alive. She calmed herself and allowed her soul to drift into the soft hay as her eyelids made their journey down once more. Fatigue took over as her calm breaths turned into soft snores. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.

Wondering to himself where they were going to go after he had recovered, Lelouch pushed that particular worry to the back of his mind along with many others that fought for his attention. Also lost in her own thoughts, C.C. was unknowingly falling asleep where she lay, and as the stars shone through the broken roof he recognized the tiredness overcoming her eyes, and as visions of double-stuffed crust danced through her head, Lelouch, smiling at her slothfulness, closed his eyes too.

Not the least bit tired, he was grateful that the torture of his former identity had at last ceased. While he had slept on the finest sheets awash with luxury and extravagance, all of the silk cushions and furs couldn't keep out the chill of loneliness, missing something more beautiful to him than any of the jewels crusting every surface he touched. Guilt had turned his food and wine sour though it had been the most delectable in the world. One foot over the other ascending marble steps, structures that had been built for the people he had been rebelling against but now was one of, Lelouch couldn't help but be sickened by Britannia's awful and bloody history.

He had thought that the sins of the past and his own would die with him, but now that he wasn't dead, was this enough of a penance?

* * *

><p>Trying to brush the hay from his ebony hair and sit upright, he recalled those days when his strength had denied him with varying clarity, how C.C. had held him as if he were glass, something feeble and weak that needed protection and nurturing...<em>an infant<em>. The morning sun having disturbed his sleep, he was trying to get up and out of his horribly uncomfortable position.

Lelouch's lip curled distastefully, and a blinding skewer of pain slashed through his thoughts as everything inside his chest was aflame, the muscles definitely not healed or cooperating.

His sharp intake of breath had woken up C.C, and she got up from the bundle of hay on which she had slept. Brushing the hay off her body, Lelouch's eyes were drawn to her stomach, painfully concave under her dirty clothes. He was going to ask when she had last eaten when it growled a complaint.

"You, being so injured, made me have to skip dinner." she teased, ignoring the ravenous hunger that was making her feel dizzy. "How can you live with yourself?"

When she looked at him with those soft, mocking eyes... his newly beating heart twisted when he thought of the first time they'd spoken, how he'd just wanted this bothersome woman to go away. That very same woman, having no breakfast for either of them, was now taking stock of his injuries, focusing mostly on his face. Lelouch recoiled when she touched his scraped and aching jaw, his muscles finally showing signs of life.

"When'd this happen?" he asked, half to himself. It was becoming clear that his body was becoming functional again, as last night when he had first opened his eyes the damage done to his spine had rendered his limbs useless. Pain returning was probably an even better sign.

"I was making my escape I got caught up by some guards...here." She surprised him by kissing the already faded scrape, then moving upwards until she reached his mouth. Leaning in farther, the familiar form against his was dim but pleasant, and he felt flood his face with warmth that had nothing to do with the increasingly hot air. Smirking at the colour on his cheeks, C.C pulled away.

Trying to stop himself from losing any more composure, Lelouch commented on something he hadn't noticed the night before.

"What happened to your straitjacket?" he asked, for it was strange to him to see her not wearing it; she was usually wearing the straitjacket or his own clothes.

Looking distant, and with a sad edge in her voice she replied. "I had to get rid of it because it was too recognizable. Besides, it wasn't appropriate for a funeral... your funeral."

"You went to my funeral..." Fighting back a strange mix of emotions, he realized the huge risks she had taken by attending the sorry excuse for a ceremony. "How could you be so careless, C.C.? I mean, what if somebody saw you? Sure, you could use our baby as a way to buy yourself time, but the only problem is that there isn't one! And even knowing how precarious that excuse is, you went anyway."

Looking genuinely hurt, her eyes froze with anger.

"Fine. You're right, I should just let you be buried alive and wake up alone, terrified and abandoned."

At once, Lelouch could understand why his criticism had struck a nerve. Thinking back to her memories he had seen, of the malevolent nun who had so long ago he realized he was fortunate to have someone care enough to save him from a fate that would be fate worse than death, eternally being a slave to Britannia, an anomaly that would be poked and prodded under a microscope and no doubt passed off as a scientific wonder, an object, not a person.

C.C continued her fustian, digging around in one the haystacks to pull out a crude bucket no doubt meant for bringing water to the now-absent animals. She struggled with its weight, for it was full of stagnant rainwater with strands of mouldy straw swimming on the surface. Trying not to spill any on the floor, she edged ever closer to Lelouch. "Once they'd have figured out that you can't die, trust me, the things they'd have done to you would make you wish you could. How do I know? That's how I got the straitjacket in the first place."

C.C set the heavy bucket down, a small wave rippling across its surface as she regained her kneeling position beside him. Warily eying the dingy water, he couldn't help but admit his mistake. When she grabbed his shoulders to move him out of that position, she apparently couldn't stand the stench of garbage that seemed to permeate every pore and took a swath of his once glorious attire.

"Speaking of clothes...you stink, Lelouch. To sneak you out of the palace I had to put you in a dumpster, and it was not fun getting you out."

Before he could protest she had dragged him off of the haystack and peeled most of his filthy clothes off until he was in just his underwear, the witch noticing for the first time the great deal of dried blood (and other fun things that ooze out when you're impaled) that had accumulated on his back like some kind of strange growth. From the cries he tried to mute that simple action had hurt a great deal, as his insides had still not healed.

"I finally got my master to take his clothes off!" she crowed, tossing them in a heap to the side as not to get in the way.

"C.C.! Stop it!" he protested, heart pounding uncomfortably hard under his skin. As she washed the grime away, Lelouch sorely wished his body would hurry up and heal, so he didn't have to suffer at her hands anymore. Where the water touched him he felt tangible relief as that awful film that had accumulated over the past few days was lifted.

C.C. eventually got all of the dried blood and the stench of garbage off of his body, carefully skirting the area where the internal damage was. She even took the time to carefully clean his frighteningly sullied fingernails, holding the hands that she had felt mercilessly digging into her skin a few days ago.

Appearing to have the same thought, Lelouch's visage softened. "Again, I'm sorry."

"Lelouch, it's fine. You had to do it, and those bruises only took hours to heal. You're the one who's hurt now." she told assured him. Still being in just underwear, most of his skin was slick with water and open to the cool morning air, and it prickled as goosebumps formed. He felt as though an old life, or at least identity, had been sloughed off, the Demon Emperor now evaporating along with the dirty water on the floor.

As if reading his mind, C.C gestured towards the pile of silk. "When we do need money, your old outfit has us set." Looking down, he saw that his once magnificent white robes, stained with blood and torn at the stomach were missing their encrusted jewels, which had been carefully removed and had left ugly holes behind.

Remembering the dirty mass, he said "I think it's best if we hide them, maybe under a haystack or something."

Disagreeing, C.C. took them in her hands. "That won't be enough. They're easily recognizable as yours, and imagine what kind of questions that would lead too." and after a fair amount of resistance from the stitches, a few yanks and bloodcurdling rips later the whole thing lay in pieces at her feet, a mangled pile of tarnished gold and white strips. Lelouch had considered the outfit a mere costume, but after years of frugal living it was still hard to see purposeful destruction.

"Let's burn them the next change we get." was all she said, and taking the bucket in hand put it back in its original location.

While she was occupied with making the scene look undisturbed, Lelouch simmered with frustration.

_I can't even walk nor do anything useful, making me a weak, coddled infant that requires tender hugs and careful nurturing... Just lying here, waiting for my next meal. Disgusting._

As Lelouch wallowed in self-loathing, the witch returned, and seeing him shiver in the cold began trying to make some sort of cover out of the hay.

This helpful gesture proving his theory correct, he snapped. "Just leave me alone. I'm in a lot of pain and you've bothered me enough." He turned away from her out of disgust with himself.

She backed off, her arms in an exaggerated surrender as she let the clothes she had found fall to the floor.

A trickle of regret touched his conscience as the increasingly stiff straws jabbed into his neck, where the feeling slowly returning. "C.C. ..." he murmured, his voice weary. "I'm sorry. It's hard to get used to being so helpless..."

C.C reacted swiftly to his outburst. "I'm hungry too and now my clothes stink of garbage, so I don't want to hear it. And to clear things up, if you were so helpless you wouldn't have been able to destroy the world as you've done. Sure, you can't walk at the moment, but you haven't tried ether. I assume that your spine had been mostly severed, but has been regenerating from the moment it was. So why don't you try it?"

After letting her put the musty clothes on their correct limbs, Lelouch tested the movement in his fingers and toes, which was slowly returning. However, spines don't grow back over just a few days, and painfully reminded of his crippled sister, he ended up back in a haystack after C.C. dragged him there, stressed about how long this mortifying weakness would last.

_A complete and utter failure._

Seeing his distress, C.C tried to reassure him by listing off all of the horrible deaths she had suffered. "Let's see...I've been burned alive, shot in the head, decapitated..." she counted, eventually running out of fingers. "Don't worry. The more gruesome the injury, the longer it takes to recover. I'd give a day or two, as you've got all of those organs and 'muscles' to heal." she laughed at the last item on her list.

"To think I was actually glad to see you." he thought out loud, ending all conversation.

* * *

><p>The evening was heralded by a low sun and decreasing heat, but the stable remained cool. Lelouch made a second attempt at regaining his ability to walk, and most importantly; his dignity. They both felt confident that he would, as he had almost full control of all of his limbs now, awake but a still bit clumsy. The fallen emperor failed once again, and even though his body was healing itself at a miraculous rate, it was simply too soon to try anything so ambitious. As he collapsed to the hard floor for the seemingly thousandth time, he pushed CC away.<p>

"That's enough!" He spat, instantly regretting his harsh tone. Her face, moist with sweat from helping...well, carrying him so much was drawn with fatigue.

"Have fun crawling for the rest of your life." she said sharply in reply, not seeming to mean it.

After an awkward silence, they both grudgingly agreed to make one more effort. C.C put one arm around his back and the other under his arm, and finally, though stumbling at the slightest like a newborn foal, the man who had destroyed the world and created it anew took the first step of his second life.

He was alive, and that was all that mattered. No longer creeping closer to death every single second of every day, but instead blessed to remain an eternal eighteen for the remainder of his existence, may it be decades, centuries or infinite millennia. The accomplishment he felt at a plan and emperor well executed caused his mouth to break into a triumphant smile, and he turned to his partner and savoured the realization that he, they, had forever and longer to wander the Earth as demon and witch.

Brought down from his glorious realizations by the lethargy setting in after a long hard day, he let CC help him lie down comfortably in his usual pile of hay. He no longer felt like the puny, helpless lamb he had been but instead a triumphant dark messiah, recovering from a successful crusade against injustice.

Wanting to examine the place he had been impaled, Lelouch took off his shirt with shaking hands, ignoring the frosty rush of night air. The horrible mess of green and yellow bruising that had now formed was made beautiful by it's aqquitsition, an unlikely equal to stigmata. C.C, emanating the solace only another body could provide lay down beside him, and after a long, comfortable silence she twisted around and stroked the hollows between each of his too-prominent ribs. Assured for the millionth time he was indeed really alive, she kissed the bird-like symbol that had formed over the entry wound, the matching one on her forehead pulsing with gentle light.

* * *

><p>When the sun had retreated behind the horizon, the stable's rightful owner untied the fastened doors, absolutely sure he had left them unlocked. Breifly lost in the pitch darkness but then seeing the starlight slipping through the patches of broken roof, he moved towards the lanterns he intended to light. Striking a match, he was about to catch the dusty wick aflame when he noticed something odd. What he had first thought was just the scarecrow or something was actually two people, and upon closer examination there was no mistaking those two faces. He knew who they were, and exactly what he was going to do about it.<p>

* * *

><p>Next, chapter 11... <em>Abandon.<em>

I like how people are pointing out how things are a little exaggerated...but I think that's how Lelouch would put it, y'know because he's..._dramatic. _I also assume they would both be a little cranky after going hungry for so long.


	11. Abandon

Chapter 11- Abandon

Lelouch

A growing sensation of dread bubbled in his stomach as he strode gracefully up the last set of stairs he would ever climb, taking every single detail in like a starving man; the bright heat of the sun, the smell of grass and morning chill. The dimming autumn colours that stained the flowers seemed vibrant and in his head a replay button. _There's no turning back now._ He thought as the float, complete with the prisoners and Nunnally, slowly lurched forward.

Lelouch scanned the scene, catching sapphire eyes that finally could see; a pair of eyes that made him long to cry with joy. _Nunally. _Lelouch ignored the sharp tug in his chest and gave her a nasty sneer for good measure, denying the very same brotherly instinct that had gotten him this far. He couldn't stand to see the expression she would have responded with, so he focused his eyes on the enormous hordes of people that wanted him dead.

* * *

><p>As the parade moved closer and closer to the end of it's predetermined route, Zerozaku still hadn't shown yet. His anxiety multiplying by the second, the Emperor could only think of one thing, his death, which should have occurred minutes ago.<p>

_Where's Suzaku?_

He couldn't bear seeing Nunally chained up any longer, and though his death might be painful for her to watch, she must hold something against him for the awful way he'd treated her. Heart thundering with trepidation, Lelouch tried to keep his expression as bored and arrogant as possible, despite how his brilliant plan was collapsing all around him.

_What? Am I missing something...where is he?_

The procession was way past the point where they agreed Zero would appear. He tried to order the Knightmares to stop, but they had already reached the end of the. Lining up to form a lethal firing squad, they waited for his order to execute the prisoners.

**_SUZAKU! NOW!_**

Numb with disbelief, Lelouch couldn't believe that Zero was still absent, failing to complete the Zero Requiem as they'd promised. A familiar voice interrupted the chaotic ricochet of his thoughts, coming from a man standing nearby.

"What should I do, your majesty?" asked Jeremiah, turning to his superior.

Lelouch shook his head, trying to hide his internal struggle from the crowd. He said the words that were unbearable to hear, words that he would forever regret. "I don't know...I can't actually kill them all!"

Jeremiah signaled the Knightmare pilots, the sun glinting off of his artificial eye. "You heard His Majesty! Kill them all!"

"NO! Jeremiah, no! I take it back! Don't kill them! That's not what I meant!" His seemingly mute protests went unheard over the crowd's turmoil when they saw the Knighmares preparing to shoot.

* * *

><p>All to soon.<p>

Blood-dappled light or light-dappled blood...Lelouch couldn't tell in the madness. He wished he were deaf, blind, or simply too stupid to understand what was happening when the screams of the crowd and prisoners were cut short as gunfire shattered the air. Nunnally, crumpled in a pool of red. Kallen, eyes already glassed over from too many bullet wounds. The streams of blood dripping down from the mass of prisoners pooled on the streets, most of the crowd unable to look away, transfixed as the brave resistance fighters were butchered before them. The carnage was gleefully reflected in the lenses of hundreds of cameras, broadcasting live to everyone under his rule.

_See what happens when you cross the mighty Lelouch...__THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!_

Not caring if he lost his composure, he sprang from where he sat on his throne, one word on his mind. "NUNALLY!" _I didn't mean it...please...not Nunnally... _Lelouch didn't know who he was begging, but in that split second he didn't care if there was no one to hear.

Not caring if she was still being fired at...Lelouch moved faster than he ever had to protect her from those tiny bringers of death...'Nunnally' and 'death' was a connection he never wanted to ever make again.

Not caring that he must have tripped on the top of the ramp...for suddenly he was sliding down it, what he assumed to be a bullet wound in his stomach. Crawling blindly, the world reduced to noisebloodscreamingpain he finally reached his sister.

Too late.

Already slumped over blood dyed her hair to fuchsia, her dress losing it's colour to a pale pink.

As he held that precious bundle of everything that ever mattered, Lelouch found his mouth forming strange words. "Goodbye, Euphie." (_or was it Nunally?) _"You may have been the first girl I ever loved." _I've loved her my whole life._

The gun _(Where did I get a gun?) _ in his hands feeling heavier, he spotted the Lancelot swooping furiously toward him, the black material of Zero's cape caressing his legs. Knightmares grappled with each other, broken pieces of them lying amongst the thousands of tattered bodies, discarded dolls lying in pieces around him as more people were mown down. Nobody was spared from the deadly rain of open fire, and the tractioned boots of Zero couldn't keep a hold on the ground, slipping in red puddles.

The red cleared to translucent, rainwater from the surrounding trees. His tiny body worked furiously to catch his sisters, and he imagined the candy-coloured roses fading to a blur from the incredible speed he wished he had. Trying as hard as he possibly could, he still couldn't catch his sisters and they laughed at him from the tree by which they stood, panting and red-faced. Red, like the blood saturating them both, Nunally, a silent cry frozen on her lips, Euphie, in the arms of the Lancelot. Rolo's nervous voice, accompanied by the image of his pale face, strained as his heart gave out.

_You're right, Rolo, I'm just a liar. Lying for this power...I said I wanted her to be safe but.__"_It's all my fault!"_ I shot her myself..._

* * *

><p>A voice from the real, waking world turned drowned all visions in the room's grey pallor, no doubt an indication of early morning. "What's your fault?"<p>

Disoriented, Lelouch rubbed his eyes, red splatters burned into everything he saw. They didn't seem to belong here, yellow walls and a worn wooden floor. He was lying on that floor, nothing but a few crumpled blankets and a mashed-up pillow under his body. The dusty underside of a bed inches from his face, dust bunnies skittering around in the faint draft of an open window.

_Nunnally, ocean eyes unseeing, a broken mannequin riddled with holes, way too similar to the time when she had been shielded by our dead mother._

_Nunnally._

A sudden but familiar burst of agony cinched his chest, making breathing a chore as some unseen force smothered his face and held back all air. Becoming more aware of his surroundings, he noticed C.C peering down at him from the bed she had agreed to take, leaving him to sleep on the floor. A faint patter of rain was audible over nothing but the sound of silence ringing in his ears, echoes of head-splitting gunfire not yet faded.

"What's your fault, Lelouch? You've been thrashing around for an annoyingly long time...is this some kind of apology?" Almost like a cat's those eyes seemed to glow in the dark, framed by messy green hair the gathered on her shoulders. Hands folded under her chin at the mattress's edge, he realized she had probably seen or at least heard him calling for his sister the whole night.

His clothes were welded on with glue, beads of panic clung to his forehead and dripped icy fingers into his hair. Ignoring that, Lelouch sat up, their faces almost level. (_Nunnally is not dead) _Trying to get that horrible picture out of his mind, with speed hopefully faster than those synapses he brought his mouth to C.C's, liking the perfume of sleep that clung to her skin, overwhelming every sense and most importantly, his mind.

* * *

><p>As morning broke, in a stupor of exhaustion, it was easy for Lelouch to see becoming a farmer or picking up some other honest trade. Princely hands, perfect for dramatic gesturing would be put to the test as they toiled in the hot sun, but somehow such hard work didn't seem so daunting as those very same hands braided C.C's silky green hair, a reassurance that their his life of war and anguish was behind him. Sure, there was always a slight chance of discovery, but as long as they kept their heads down, every day they wouldn't be on the cusp of a battle, and 'living' would no longer be a mere distraction from what Lelouch had seemed to exist for.<p>

Violence.

Suffering.

The rain continued to berate the farmhouse, a small amount of morning sun able to squeeze through the angry clouds and illuminate the surrounding orange orchards. Burlap sacks of the already harvested fruit were piled knee-high in the house's cellar, having been stored there by none other than Jeremiah Gottwald, who maybe was orange after all. That had made for a pretty strange reunion, Jeremiah finding his presumedly dead master peacefully sleeping in a haystack, side-by side with his fugitive partner. Immediately after traveling in the dark of midnight, Jeremiah had shown them the small grove of orange trees he kept by himself, his artificially attached skin already tanned and sun-beaten. He was just in the middle of a harvest, as the trees would die in the frost if he waited any longer.

Even though he had been well-known as Lelouch's right-hand man, the cyborg had so far seen no retaliation to his presence in this rural farm village, but was ready to flee if the authorities can knocking. After clearing the air that C.C wasn't pregnant, Lelouch, glad that an insanely uncomfortable talk had been averted, was happy just to have a roof over his head again. A few blankets on the floor was preferable to a haystack any day as they had settled down for the remainder of the night.

The morning air chilly, he retrieved the thick wool blanket from the floor and tossed it over C.C, pulling it up to her chin. Hearing the first sounds of morning activity from the kitchen below, he plucked a worn jacket from the back of the door and snaked his arms through the sleeves, unused the smell of clean laundry. With one last glance over his shoulder, Lelouch stole out of the room, ready to begin the first day of his new life.

* * *

><p>Muscles aching, Lelouch had learned the hard way that it would take a lot of work to rebuild whatever muscle he had before. A sunburn was beginning to peel in white patches across his nose, C.C suffering the same thing. She had started helping help the two men, but had just ended up eating oranges right off the tree. Eating their first hot meal in what seemed like years, it was the first time the three of them had had a normal conversation ever since his agonizing rule as Emperor. The news was showing in the background, and Lelouch tried to ignore his former friend that was on the screen.<p>

"I've forgotten what it's like." Jermiah remarked as the two finished their meal, eye settling on the food that still remained on their plates. "This body is perfect for battle but not much else. It doesn't need any food, it can't die and can be rebuilt in an instant..." Catching the apology that C.C was undoubtedly about to give, he waved off the remark. "You were only doing what Lelouch told you to do. That kind of **loyalty** is admirable! Laying down your life, the ultimate sacrifice, which you made as soon as the situation demanded it."

About to continue making amends for the past, he spotted a new image that had appeared. Suzaku.

The eyes of the world once turned to a murder this time focused on their incarnate of hope, the masked man known only as Zero. Lelouch saw him too, moving closer to the TV with CC at his side. When the mask spoke they exchanged glances, hoping they were the only ones to notice the difference in voice. Watching his speech, Lelouch felt a frown settling on his face. The announcement, no doubt scripted down to the supposedly dramatic pauses, was dull and hardly held his attention, except for when he said those magic words. "...Nunally vi Brittania."

_Nunally. _

Turning up the volume, he let the metallic voice register in his ears, bringing news of his beloved sister.

"The throne's next successor, Nunally vi Brittania, shall be crowned at the Viceroy's Palace this Sunday, as the designated mourning period for the former Emperor-." He paused, as if that name were hard to say. "Lelouch… has ended, and it's time to lift this down-trodden Empire into a new age, one of peace and prosperity. Certain aspects of the ceremony will be open to the public, but is otherwise designated to the appropriate officials. Viewing will be mandatory, and if the program is inaccessible in private homes the option to watch it at the nearest government office will be available. After some non-important drabble, he concluded his lackluster performance."All hail Brittania, and long live Japan!" With a flourish of his cape, the camera went dark, turning back to the normal broadcast.

_What kind of brother would I be if I didn't go?_

"C2, We're going." That was all he said before switching off the TV, before the irritating Pizza Hut jingle could to fill the room.

C.C didn't appreciate it. "Hey! I was watching that. And what makes you think you can just go waltzing in there for no apparent reason?" She moved to turn it back on, but after a look from Lelouch decided not to. Shooing a few pillows off of the couch, she took one and whacked him with it, unsure when he just kept glaring at her.

"No apparent reason?"

_Oh boy. _C.C wished he would put his brainpower to better use then fretting about his sister. _We're supposed to have left that life behind, remember?_

"She's my sister, and I can't just stay home knitting on the most important day of her life! You know what… actually, I don't have to ask you. You just stay here while I go see everything we've worked for finally come true." He didn't want to mention that the only reason he really wanted to go was to just see her again, even if he couldn't make contact. Those brilliant blue eyes, washed out on TV but so striking in person, how she'd gone from a tangle of skirts and two frail legs wrapped around his back to the soon-to-be leader of the biggest Empire in the world. He couldn't stop the affection from welling up as he thought of how she'd lead the world into a new era, one of peace, just as Zero had said.

* * *

><p>LOYALTY! I wrote the first part when I was going through a dream sequence phase. I'd like to apologize if I've ever released a chapter and deleted it, as I'm a bit spazzy and sometimes change my mind or accidently click it while updating a chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience it may have caused...the delay is because of people being busy and stuff like that, a bit disappointing T_T so I did all editingproofing myself. Sorry about that, too. I wrote a **_really _**creepy sentence that I originally had in this chapter, and after a second look I was like "Ok that's scary!" Oh yeah didja know the "Lelouch Lamperouge" means "suspicious red light" in French? Coincidence? I think not:)

:'( I must feel so bad because this chapter was so depressing to write. And yes I included the joy-screams I was asking about awhile ago. After looking those up, apparently they're from anxiety. Which makes me feel even worse for Lulu. My other story If it Kills Me is on hold but I **will **finish/continue it eventually XD. I'm excited about this next chapter, yes I am..._So Cold_


	12. So Cold, Part I

Chapter 12- So Cold, Part I

Nunnally

The soon-to-be Empress fidgeted in her wheelchair, hungry to look as regal and domineering in appearance as Lelouch had been. The gold and white dress with pearly fabric down to her ankles drew, at least in her mind, an uncanny resemblance like the blood-spattered clothes he had been buried in. All of the makeup in the world couldn't make her appear happy, and the stuff was coated thickly on her delicate skin. In many ways she was becoming more like him by also relying on a mask, one of the young but promising leader of a new age.

Preparations for her crowning were in full swing, the buzz of excitement a sharp contrast to the dreary mood it instilled in her. Everyone wanted this event to be spectacular; and the attendance of Zero only increased the pressure of the public eye. For once people had something other than the resurgent matter of C.C to talk about, and Nunnally hoped that all of this progress would erase those troublesome rumors and the request made by the palace for the return of Lelouch's missing hat. She could hardly remember how that world had looked through the eyes of the child she no longer was, when her brother had been there for her. No one's voice was as kind, no one's hand as gentle. Day after day of being told that yes, it was sad but she had to move on.

"People spend so much time ruminating over the bad things." Cornelia had told her. "War or politics or violence, whatever it is. . . being the 100th Empress is a historic landmark which will hopefully overshadow the blemish that Lelouch...well... as Zero said we need to move on as an empire. I know you'll be replacing him as a ruler, Nunnally; but no one can replace him as your brother."

Wishing that face in the mirror looked more like his, Nunnally didn't know what make of everyone from his life as Lelouch Lamperouge pretty much denying that he had ever existed. Ashford Academy should at least show some acknowledgement that one of it's former students had been murdered, but along with any sign of his participation in the student council his name was completely erased from their records. According to Kallen, every surviving member acted as if Rivalz had been their president ever since Milly had graduated.

_Everyone loved him, the real Lelouch. They, the world, didn't really hate him, but his phony artifice. On the surface, what he allowed them to see was indestructable. He was always being told how evil he was, but he knew he wasn't._

Or at least she hoped so. At times her brother had put on such a wonderful act that to she still wondered if some of it had been real. Maybe he did have that bloodthirsty lust for power somewhere in him, long repressed by the wrong circumstances. But no matter how spirit-crushing the reason for his horrible behavior had been, Nunnally was glad that she knew it.

* * *

><p><span>Shortly After the Battle of Mt. Fuji<span>

Lelouch had reappeared as her enemy, and trying as hard as she could Nunnally still couldn't hate him, the will to do so fighting the strongest emotion she had ever felt in her life. Thinking back to those awful words that had pained her to speak _"Despicable! Cowardly!"_the cold stone underneath her hands rattled with the last of explosions as he walked away from her, bruises no doubt forming on Nunnally's knees from the fall she had taken down the stairs.

Seeing her brother's receding form (_Why? Why would he do this to me?_), she tried crawling up the steps, her arms too weak and legs useless. More hot tears splashed off of her face as her struggling caused her to slide further down the staircase, her wheelchair taunting her from above. Sprawled across the stairs, Nunnally had waited, for how long she didn't know.

Eventually a guard collected her, a pinching grip her arms and for cautionary measures a blindfold across her eyes.

...footsteps...voices...a few rough shoves...

"His Majesty has requested you be kept here." When the black cloth was lifted, Nunnaly found herself in one of the palace rooms, all of the decorations that could have been used as weapons removed, but the gilded wallpaper still remaining. Empty except for a table and futon the guard placed her on the thin mattress, throwing something in her lap.

"Be wearing that when we get you tomorrow." After that bland statement the man left, locking the door behind him. She could see the shadows of his feet under the door, just in case somebody wanted to try some heroics and rescue the princess. Moving her body to the most comfortable position possible, Nunnally settled into an uneasy sleep, wondering what the future would bring.

The dress lay untouched beside where she had slept, ugly and blood-red with a suspiciously low neckline. After a rude awakening by the guard, she had been punished for not complying with orders by being deprived of food. It didn't seem as if she would have been eating first-class anyways, but a little porridge always helps.

Despite her refusal, the guard showed no irritation at her resistance. "You're unfit to be seen by His Majesty if you're not wearing the dress." He said robotically, the words awkward in his mouth. Nunnally asked, with enough chill to calm her nerves, why she had to wear it. The guard answered in another monotone statement.

"He has requested your presence earlier than expected, so you must be ready in five minutes." Taking away the porridge he had intended to give her, he left to wait outside as she changed. Not wanting to know what would happen if she were late, the strands of matted brown hair that were tangled in the fastenings had to be ripped out of her scalp, making her head ache. Having someone dress her for as long as she could remember, Nunnally was not finding it easy to do the task herself.

Shortly afterwards the guard retrieved her, the airy crimson fabric floated around her feet as she was taken to the throne room. Reaching their destination her eyes came to rest on an unfamiliar man swathed in white. When he met her stare some form of contempt was on his face, as if he were looking at some lowly slime instead of his dear sister. Beside him, standing possessively within an arms reach was who she dimly remembered to be C.C, confused as to why the woman was here, and why, as a mere consort were her clothes so fine; long skirts of gold-dusted purple and red. That combined with the baubles of Lelouch's ensemble, the effect was of tinsel on a mountainside; instead of looking ridiculous they incurred a barbaric austerity only echoed in their expressions.

As the fallen princess was placed on the carpet several yards from him, she hated to see his arm slide around the green-haired woman's waist, knitting into a fond embrace. Everyone else in the room seemed unfazed by this display of affinity, but Nunnaly couldn't stand it. He was supposed to be showing such kindness to her, not some random person who's only purpose was his entertainment.

"Lelouch." That word was a not the sob she wanted to utter, but instead a steely address of ones enemy. Wrong move.

Look, here comes the Emperor, bow down as he moves from his throne across the floor with a graceful strut of power. Close enough to see those sleepless red eyes, unknown to her having gotten that way because of the dread for this encounter. Nunnally also didn't know that once this meeting was over Lelouch would detest himself even more because of the fear in her eyes, disgusted at what awful things he had to do. He stopped very close to her, and gingerly placing the toe of a gleaming white shoe under her chin, he tilted her face upwards, speaking in an authoritative voice that resonated throughout the hall.

"Is that how you address the Emperor, you impudent girl?" Her newfound vision was wasted on a sight as terrible as her brother leering down at her. It was a shock to hear him use such a tone, this man before Nunnally being the very one who soon would die for her future. _No, it's how I address my brother._

_"_I give you nice clothes and a place to stay, though you denounce me just by existing. And if I weren't such a generous man, I would have had you tortured for that breach of manners. " Turning to C.C with a scowl he retracted his foot, letting Nunnally's head fall forward. He faced towards the witch, silently drew strength from her to say what came next, but disguising it as a lewd inspection. "The other criminals have two weeks until their execution, and I might as well dispose of Nunnally too. What do you think, C.C?"

Her voice perfectly level and not betraying the lie it held, C.C responded. "It's settled then. We can't have a threat to our child's inheritance, and she'll probably be a pain to keep around anyway." The witch shrank into the shadows, as if withering under his gaze.

Shocked by this, Nunnally couldn't help it."Brother! Br- Your Majesty please...spare me..." She hated herself for sounding so pathetic. _Why is he doing this?_

In desperation she grabbed fistfuls of that silky white cloth, seeing his expression change to one of surprise, and was that a flash of pity? Unknown to her she was playing a role perfectly, Lelouch's hands not trembling from fury but instead with the agony of seeing Nunnally in such distress.

But Lelouch vi Brittania doesn't feel agony.

With a dextrous swipe he pried her hands off him, nobody noticing the lack red marks where they had merely brushed her wrists. Unlike the real force he would later use with C.C, Lelouch couldn't stand the though of laying a hand on his sister. _You've held my hand for as long as I can remember, so why do you strike it away?_Through clenched teeth he growled a warning and stepped back as if he'd catch some disease, facilely sitting back down beside C.C, and with an agitated sigh gave the cue for her removal. "This one is getting a little annoying. Take her away before she wastes any more of my time, I've got a funeral to arrange for tomorrow and I can't stand this meaningless drivel."

As guards took the fallen princess from the floor, Lelouch couldn't look.

He couldn't go on pretending like this for much longer, for along with the world, he was destroying himself.

* * *

><p>I like writing about Lelouch as "His Majesty." It's a cool dynamic.<p>

I have a few short stories in progress, Misguided Ghost and If It Kills Me, all CG-related and am doing a mass-release of those along with Chapter 13 next week on July 1st, because it's Canada day and I just feel like it...V0ID takeover, Bwahahaha. My best friend is on Episode 19 R2, and is as big of a Lelouch fangirl as I am... I'm expecting her to call me in tears after she sees the final episode. At least she won't have to be in shock the next day after I assure her that he's alive, because I missed a couple lessons in school with "...and created...anew (heartbreaking sigh)" repeating over and over in my head. Yeah, I took it hard XD.

**UPDATE:**all of the above mentioned works will be released after all of this 4th of july stuff is over.

Thanks for all the views/subscriptions/reviews everyone. Really appreciate it :)

_So Cold, Part II_ next...


	13. So Cold, Part II

Chapter 13- So Cold, Part II

C.C

Twisting the unruly fabric of the uncomfortable new clothes in her hand, C.C was glad the arrangements were simple. Finally, the decision had made that a small plaque would be dedicated to Sir Kururagi, then the Emperor would resume with his reign of terror as if nothing had ever happened. The dais step she was sitting on wasn't getting any more comfortable as the evening wore on. The meeting between Lelouch and his court was running longer than expected, cutting into her favorite part of the day. C.C observed how the majority's agreement most likely stemmed from the more and more restless Lelouch was looking, no doubt from the earlier incident with Nunnally. Cheeze-kun on one knee, she buried her face into the threadbare orange fluff, wishing for the whole ordeal to be over.

_This is what you wanted, Lelouch. It will just make your death easier for her when this is over._

When this is over.

Once again, she would be doomed to endless wandering...a_ life without meaning isn't life at all._

_A zombie, ghost... however you want to put it. When I pick the wrong person to give Geass, they end up like Mao; squandering their gift and letting it destroy them. But I guess it will even destroy the people who are right for it._

These plush accommodations were an unlikely Death Row, a mere holding pen for self-made criminals.

The man slowly dying on front of her, whether it be from time or his own efforts.

C.C pushed those thoughts away and reviewed their latest scheme, almost unnecessary at this point. _You've gone far enough out of your way to be hated and feared. Don't you see how no one can meet your eyes? How they're even scared of me because I'm so close to you? It would be easier to live for these next two weeks if you just gave it a rest._

Portraits along the wall frowned down at the whole scene, their expressions set with identical disapproval. As if answering her thoughts, Emperor-voice she was so sick of hearing cut through the air. "I say we go with my plan, and that's final. Now make the servants get everything ready for tomorrow...and I don't care if it takes them all night."

Before she choked on her own laughter, C.C put Cheeze-kun under her arm and stood up, already thinking of the hot mozzarella that called to her from the dining room. Lelouch was way too good at this, but knowing the real him C.C thought it was funny.

Still in the act, Lelouch called her out on it. "Where the **_hell_** do you think you're going, ignorant witch? Did I say this meeting was over?"

_That's right...of course you're angry. _

"But Lulu, I'm hungry!" She had tried to find the most provoking thing to say, and apparently it worked.

He had the perfect, scathing look down pat. "Well you might just have to wait till tomorrow, because I prohibit you to eat! Now go to your room, I'll get you later if I feel like it...which actually I do." After C.C left, he a gave a smug smile to his court.

"You're dismissed."

That was all the permission they needed, and after the initial rush to escape had cleared Lelouch set off to his meal alone.

* * *

><p>"C2, do you think I overdid it?"<p>

"Nah, they can never hate you too much."

Where the mighty Brittanian Emperor slept could probably be considered a work of art, a bed that was currently being used by C.C to eat her dinner. Lelouch watched her from a tall armchair, trying not to wince as the pizza slice got dangerously close to his pillow.

"Please don't make a mess, I sleep in that bed you know." he said, glancing at the empty box that lay on the floor. C.C ignored him and continued to devour the cheesy goodness.

"Is that really your seventh slice? You're not going to fit all those new clothes if you keep eating so much."

Licking the sauce from one hand C.C patted the space beside her, warm-faced from the hot food. Her touch had the same effect on Lelouch when he sat beside her, letting pale hands work patterns into the muscles of his back. As Lelouch turned to face her, she noticed the mark of a curse suspended in the center of those glittering red eyes; Geass.

"Nunnally really thinks I'm going to have her killed..." The Emperor looked old, worried about the responsibilities forced upon him. _Ones that have become a second nature._

_"_You know it will make things easier in the end."

Lelouch's hands touched either side of her waist, long forgotten feelings smoldering where they settled. Too soon, all of their suffering and deception was nullified, for a few minutes later the true 100th ruler of Brittania came to exist.

* * *

><p>'Tis been a a stressful week, sorry this chappy is so short. I shouldn't have taken on so many projects x_x...didn't plan for this to happen, but I guess they didn't either. May not update next week for <em>Part III, <em>and if not I will in two...just feeling very stressed...this was kind of rushed sorry. I've extended this arc because I have one other idea...

**UPDATE: **I have to go to Canada from July 8th through the 16th, so no updates till I get back. But after two ten-hour drives I'll probably tackle those other short stories I wanna do... Reviewer of the Week time!

Dear XxBlazingFuryxX, I've starred your review in my inbox and read it whenever I need some... encouragement? Yes, encouragement. Thank you :D


	14. Notice

Dear all of my amazing readers,

I'm going to say the dreaded h-word, "hiatus". But it's temporary, I swear. Don't look at me like that, there are a ton more ideas I'm excited to write about and it's just a vacation..so the next update shall be...(hesitates...) the 22nd. Yes, I've added a bit about this onto the last chapter and you're probably disappointed this isn't a real one, but I'll bring you back some maple syrup, and cookies for Davie the Inspirational Gamer. The good news is that it's a ten hour drive both ways, so I can tackle all of those short stories I've wanted to do and keep my promise on the V0ID takeover….yes….yes…That extra long period for Chapter 14 assures that I won't rush this time, and again I'm nowhere close to being finished, so don't hurt me :) The Zero Requiem is pretty much screwed now, eh? There's another heir, people have found out about Lelouch's suicide….what else could go wrong, I wonder….The _Cold _arc (regretting the name XD) has been extended to include Suzaku. **That** will be the final part, and there's (finally) a new chappy for If It Kills Me. My favorite POV to write from is next…..

- (¯`°•,.(¯`°•,.* *.,•°´¯).,•°´¯) _

_ (¯`°•,(¯`°•,* *,•°´¯),•°´¯) _

}}}- Lelouch! -{{{

_ (_.•°'´(_.•°'´ `'°•.,_)`'°•._) _

..._ (_,.•°'´(_,.•°'´* *`'°•.,_)`°•.,_

_~V0ID_

P.S

The Word of God (me) says that C.C **is **pregnant…by Suzaku! Just kidding, this will not turn into a soap-opera I promise.


	15. So Cold, Part III

Chapter 15- So Cold, Part III

Lelouch

"_Please! We're still brothers!"_

Clovis had never been known for his courage, and he shook with fear as the gun jolted in Lelouch's hand, brain matter instantly spraying the floor... a sound similar to the vomit befouling a pristine porcelain sink Lelouch was bent over, the contents of his stomach stolen from him. Eventually the painful heaves subsided, leaving the bitter aftertaste of memories and acid.

_Haven't had that one in a while._

The groggy Emperor washed his hands, face, then hands again for good measure as he surveyed the mess he'd made. After a few good swishes of water everything looked fine, and he realized the remaining evidence would support the story of C.C's pregnancy. _If I missed anything I'll say that C.C had morning sickness or something. Don't want them to know about these stupid nightmares. _Their regular arrival already made themselves known by the seemingly permanent shadows under his eyes, set off by angular cheekbones that were only getting sharper.

Padding silently as to not wake the ghosts, Lelouch returned to his bed; the hulking shape unfamiliar except for the form of his sleeping partner. He was careful not to trip on that gaudy dress he'd given her; limp and abandoned on the floor. After crawling across the massive expanse of mattress the Emperor waited until the sun had risen to wake her, using the name he alone had been trusted with. A secret between the two anchoring the more important ones. That name was probably the closest he'd ever get to conveying such inane emotions he couldn't afford to have.

_Dying a virgin had not been preferable_. his calculating mind concluded, as if he needed an excuse for such desires._Sex is just a act. There's an underlying...attraction, no doubt, and now seems like the best, if only time to indulge._ He grudgingly admitted to himself she fulfilled the very basic human want, even deeper than the ones that naturally came with being a teenager.

To be understood.

But Lelouch promised himself, their lips meeting, biting, insisting, he would never say or think the exact word for what they might have. The word that would only make the end of everything so much harder. _Better keep this kind of stuff under control_. He felt at loss from his usual tact, and discipline was the very thing he would need today. A sliver of loneliness forced itself between their intertwined bodies, growing when a light knock sounded on the door. It was no longer their silent sanctuary punctured only by the sound of their breathing; two castaways just barely afloat in a sea of hatred. Ignoring it, Lelouch tugged Cheese-kun from C.C's sleep-weakened hands, dully wondering what this new bond meant now, and more importantly what it would mean when it was all taken away.

"That's mine..." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes and trying to snatch it back.

Feeling a smile pull on the corners of his mouth, Lelouch attempted to throw the plushie across the room, but it hit the ground after half of his intended distance. Eyeing it warily he said. "It kind of freaks me out that it was with us."

C.C closed her eyes, hugging a pillow in place of Cheese-kun. "I don't think it cares..besides this bed is big enough for an army. You're just jealous."

"So I'm jealous of it.." He tried not to turn away from the pizza breath.

She caught on. "Oh. Sorry."

"No no, it's cute."

_Cute? I must have missed more sleep than I thought._

Deciding to throw all caution to the wind, Lelouch slid his hands to her chest from where they had been resting on her shoulders and traced the bird-shaped scar. "Very cute." Another obnoxiously loud a knock on the door later the cloying feel of whatever seemed to overcome him passed, and quickly putting on a bathrobe Lelouch answered the servant in his best Emperor voice. "Well? What are you waiting for...come in and be quick about it." After entering the servant's eyes bulged when she saw C.C's clothes on the floor, and blushed at his gold-trimmed ensemble and the sheet that had been hastily wrapped around the witch. That evil sovereign was back in the room, suffocating Lelouch Lamperouge and making anyone who stood in the way tremble at his feet.

"The p-preparations for the ceremony have been in order since nine this morning. When you scheduled it. Should I tell everyone you are on your way?" The servant didn't seem too keen on coming near him and stayed as close to the door as she could.

Lelouch inspected his nails. "Actually you should get me an C2 some breakfast...why are you still standing there..hurry up! Thank C2 for putting me a good mood...I'd normally have you thrown out for interrupting as you did. Now get lost, for as you can see there are better things I could be doing." That was enough of an incentive for her to evacuate his lair and return ten minutes later with two heaping trays of food.

After she quickly left Lelouch gave his breakfast to C.C in favor of a few swallows of coffee, and the scalding liquid sloshed around in his uncomfortably empty stomach._ One of the annoyances of being so damn sensitive. _While she ate everything in sight he asked something that had been bothering him since waking.

"Precautions...are we ok...?"

The witch cut him off before he could finish."How many one-thousand year old mothers do you see any running around? Sorry, I can't continue your bloodline."

"Good. I'm sure we've kept everyone waiting long enough, so I better go get ready."

* * *

><p>Years of abandonment had served Lelouch well, for changing into the robes he had made with Suzaku's help the good craftsmanship was visible. Made especially for the occasion, the outfit was almost the inverse of his usual garb; consisting of black and silver fabric with deep purple gems. He didn't care how ill-fitted it now was in several places, namely around his waist and shoulders, and because of the excess space the arm sashes dragged around his feet. Folding them up as he sifted through a pile of C.C's clothes, one caught his eye. The fabric of this one was as bright as the sunshine her face reminded him of, a happy colour she wouldn't be allowed to wear while in mourning.<p>

_Mourning for me._

Ignoring those thoughts he held it up to for C.C to take a look. "This would look good on Nunnally, don't you think?" he felt himself smiling once again as he pictured his sister, the wound of suffering he had inflicted on her starting to fester. He handed her another dress, skintight and black.

She grabbed the one he had picked out and got a good look on how risque it was. "Dunno...but are you just playing the part of the Emperor or do you really want me to wear this?"

"Just put it on C2. I'll be waiting in the front hall."

After yelling at people to get out of his way Lelouch made his way to the front entrance and the armoured cars that waited to escort him to the graveyard. Hesitating a little, and giving a prolonged bow the driver approached him, not even acknowleding C.C's arrival. "Is his majesty bringing the whor... I mean, concubine along?" He wrinkled his nose at her, who looked away. A small group formed around them, sensing some drama from their favorite actor. _Perfect._

Lelouch felt his face snap into a hostile expression so fast it almost scared him."Yes, the 'concubine', as you put it, will be coming...I find her nice to look at. But if it makes you feel any better I won't let her hang around after she serves her purpose." and poking C.C's stomach he didn't even care about the the disturbed glances that were passed around as he laughed. The driver reached into the crowd, pulling out two other women.

"Might I suggest these two for companions as well?" Lelouch felt them brush up against him like a pair of cats on a particularly satisfying corner; tension flooding his body when they touched him.

"Let us help you relax, your majesty..." they crooned, clearly not noticing his disgust.

He was so thoroughly repulsed that he shoved them away. _This is just getting ridiculous. _A bit lost on what to say all he managed was "No thank you", and turning his back on their confounded faces ducked into the armoured car, patting the cool leather seat beside him.

"Get your ass over here! You know I hate waiting." Before the door was closed behind them C.C made she that everyone saw her curl up in his lap, and catching on Lelouch asked for the wall between them and the driver to be raised. When they had privacy C.C slid off of him, and trying to get settled in the seat right beside him asked. "Will you have me tortured, your majesty?"

"Of course not. I have special punishments for a witch." Lelouch snickered, taking an edge off the growing nervousness he was trying not to show. And noticing her struggles added. "Namely uncomfortable clothes." He didn't know how long they sat like that, the steady engine hum in place of conversation. A whole street had been cleared for him and his escort, half a dozen other vehicles containing a private guard and soldiers for protection. And if that weren't enough, two Knightmares sidled along, always watching for danger. The already small space seemed smaller, and the blacked-out windows didn't betray him whisper an almost inaudible apology. "I'm sorry I have to be so cruel."

She seemed a little surprised by this admission and took her time responding, letting her hair fall over her melancholy expression as the car came to a stop. "I know that's not you ."

When he brushed C.C's hair off her face he kissed the exposed sigil on her forehead, not sure about the nervous electricity that wormed into his stomach from their arrival.

The witch let him see her pink ears. "That isn't like you either."

The bulletproof door was opened for him the Emperor walked out first, holding his head high as C.C was dragged behind. Everybody in the crowd turned his direction, standing before he sat in the front row. At the head of the empty coffin was a small platform where two officials stood, a Brittainian flag draped over where Suzaku supposedly lay. Lelouch had made everyone come, and looking at some random person's watch realized he was exactly three and a half hours late. He was vital to the ceremony and it had been unable to start without him, a fact that no one was happy about.

As they droned on about the Elysium fields Lelouch examined the frost coating every surface, a reminder of the coming winter which he tried not to miss being able to see. After eventually unveiling Sir Kururugi's plaque he was called upon to speak the closing words, thinking about one person in the crowd and another locked away in the palace. Walking through the aisles and the clouds of putrid cigarette smoke he could hear his subjects whispering and regretted wearing sunglasses, almost positive that people would think he was using them to hide tears.

"Consummate...nice word choice-"

"...Suzaku were strangely close-"

"-unsure around women. Except for C2, and-"

"-he totally shot down their advances.."

Taking his place on the rickety platform before the polished box weighed with stones, Lelouch drily began the speech he'd written about the man who was supposed to be dead. The officials naturally kept their distance.

"Sir Kururugi's valiant service to this empire will never be forgotten." He was about to continue when...there it was again. That evil stab of pain that tore through his chest, worse than it ever had been. Taking a deep breath Lelouch must have looked terrible, for scared and questioning faces looked at him from every angle, millions of eyes intent on tearing him apart. Scratchy embroidery rubbed his next; every scrap of the material seeming like a cancerous lesion that was sucking him dry.

When someone laid a concerned hand on Lelouch's arm it was accompanied by a low. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?"

His Majesty tore the constricting fingers off of him, having wished no one had noticed his pause.

**"GET AWAY!"** he thundered, frustration surging into his hand as he struck one of the man across his face, flinging him off the platform to the ground. A bead of damp rolled down his pallid face, the sign of an adrenaline-spurred brain whipping into panic mode. _You're making a scene, you fool..fix it NOW! _He was confused as to why no one could see how the groud was moving in nauseating waves, and squaring his shoulders and ignoring the torture he tried to continue his speech, but his tongue felt leaden in his mouth and after a particularly violent undulation lightning must have struck, for bursts of camera lights exploded as he tripped forwards, unbalanced from the blow and stepping on the overlong sashes. The other man cringed away when his superior scrabbled for any kind of support, making sure to claim later that he was just too surprised to do anything.

Lelouch's sunglasses splintered as they hit the coffin, falling off his face shortly after he hit the curved coffin lid, cutting his fingers on the glass pieces. Luckily sticking out an arm in time had kept him from being seriously hurt, but the momentum carried him into a clumsy roll, coming to rest the on the flagstones. As shocked as a toddler that had tumbled off the playground, Lelouch felt moisture bud in his eyes but quickly blinked it away.

The floor.

The floor was that cold, rough thing his palms was pressed against. Lelouch kept his eyes closed so the inklings of water wouldn't flow, and from what he heard the only ones jumping into action was his private guard, and shortly hands were stupidly trying to find a pulse on his neck.

Smacking those hands away he stood up, startled as more flashbulbs went off. His guard had formed a tight circle around him, the crowd of attendees pushing each other to get a better look at the unfolding scene. C.C was struggling to free herself from the chokehold she was in, no doubt from trying to rush to her partner's side.

"Let her go!" Lelouch vi Brittania was back, brushing the nonexistent dirt off of his sleeves and seizing C.C out of the soldier's grasp. "She's mine...no one else touches her!" His eyes flashed when he seized her arm and practically marched her down a path that led farther into the burial grounds. They were alone here, nothing but a few naked trees that were sparse amongst many a stone monument. Sitting on one of the flat , squat ones Lelouch put his hand on the snout of a cement gargoyle. "I'd like one of these." he thought out loud. "For my gravestone that is." He knew she would bring up what had just happened, and braced himself for the question he knew would be asked. She leaned against the ugly statue and their hands joined, catching each finger as if they were five years old.

"Did you faint back there? Take better care of yourself and that won't happen."

"How can you act so blasé about it? I looked like an idiot...a weak idiot. That's the exact opposite of everything we're going for. And I lost my balance!"

C.C pulled her hand away, sitting on the paws of the frozen beast. "Maybe you are weak...and that's a good thing. You shouldn't be immune to all of the horrible things you've done."

The next phrase should have been shouted, but instead sounded like a surrender. "You know I'm paying for it in the end. With my life, and that's something you don't understand."

She allowed enough time for the trees to rattle their branches in the wind; an indication that they were listening too. "But how is your one life more valuable then the thousands you've taken?"

* * *

><p><em>At least she can always get hers back.<em>

Roaming the dark labyrinth of palace halls Lelouch didn't stop his silent journey until he passed the room Nunnally was locked in, and was rooted in place by the most horrible sound imaginable. Her muffled sobs were shards of broken glass that nearly demolished everything Lelouch had built up; knowing it was because of him making it all the more unbearable. His hands itched to smash down the door, rip off the chains and tell her the end was near.

That this deadly game of suffering was almost over.

And his forfeit would make everyone forget how to play.

Reaching the rooftop the Emperor surveyed the small corner of his dominion; a grass field that's scent was no longer soothing. A glass dome overhead reflected an illuminated lake meant to resemble the one at the Imperial Villa of Aries; an eerie effect over starry skies. He revelled in the cloak of darkness, surrounded only by marble columns turned grey with shadow.

Allowing a quick goodbye to Suzaku he thought how when they met again that _One: I will be Lelouch and him Zero, not able to exist along with the other. Two: Nunnally's reign would relinquish the hold of tyranny over the world and she'll finally be able to live without fear._

Countless accusers were cartwheeling through his mind, dispelling an notion of sleep. Lelouch didn't know where C.C was but figured she'd be just fine without him. _Rolo...Euphie..Shirley. The list would go on forever if I knew the name of everyone who's life I've taken. This ceaseless attack of disapproval, I know it's exactly what I want..._He steeled himself after realizing the path that these doubts were taking, resorting to the logical explanation of this. _I guess it doesn't matter if I can live with myself or not ... I do only have a eleven days left._

The monster-Lelouch, once a shadow in his mind seemed to be becoming the real him, the other part wanting to save the world for his sister strangled out by a mask he tried so hard to fake. _Lelouch Lamperouge the docile schoolboy will die and so will vi Brittania the Emperor. So that doesn't matter either._

Frigid lake water didn't leave any room for thinking, and taking slow steps he went ankle-deep, not wanting to ruin something handmade. The red lines on his palm strained as the Emperor clenched his hand in a fist, watery remanents of blood on the fingertips that picked at them. The small movements were a manifestation of inner turmoil, as he couldn't let word of the incident get out lest people think he's some fainthearted pansy who got upset and fainted over his dead boyfriend.

_I control those tabloids that will run the photos...and a gag order should be enough to silence any witnesses._

Artificial bedrock was smooth under his feet; the chill spreading everywhere a different kind wasn't already. He was defenseless against the end, and pondering his demise the lake water didn't feel so bad to one who was so cold, yet somehow still alive.

* * *

><p>Reviewer of the week: anime-lyric. Glad you liked my crappy chapter:)<p>

Is it weird that I picture the characters as real people instead of anime? Thanks to everyone who wished me a fun vacation, it was good to get a break from everything as I felt like I'd been forcing this a bit. It's strange how I love reviews (as u can probably tell from all of the begging) but they add lots of pressure *sweatdrop*. Here is your maple syrup (hands jar). While I was editing this chappy apparently a bunch of people were reading over my shoulder. Awkward. This has been the most work changing/editing but the most enjoyable to see published. I re-did the first chapter because it was hard for me to read.

Got another story out which will be mentioned in this one, and another in the works called Forced Obedience. The next chappy covers how Suzaku escaped the Damocles and where he went to hide and that fun stuff. It irked me how it was never covered in the anime.

Looking at what I've written for the next chapters Lelouch always manages to steal the spotlight...why oh why does he have to be so interesting. I wish to add this to a Community or something, but don't know where it would fit.

_Part IV _next.


	16. So Cold, Part IV

Chapter 16- So Cold, Part IV

Suzaku

Shortly After the Battle of Mt. Fuji

Staunching the floor of blood that seemed to gush from the wound his side, Suzaku leaned back against the padded seat of the Lancelot, letting the forlorn wind cool his sweaty face. The Guren's plunging claws had mostly been blocked by the complicated mechanisms in the front of himt; leaving only one of them to scrape across his side and leave a sizable gash. The plan was for him to wait and play dead, as his 'corpse' would be retrieved by Lelouch's slaves under orders to bring him straight to the palace. Hearing the approaching thrum of lesser Knightmares he slackened his body and snapped his eyes shut, and as they landed and began lifting him the brainwashed soldiers didn't notice the breath of life that still existed. Carrying him out of the wreckage two men shimmied the Knight of Zero into what was supposed to be his final resting place: a plastic body bag.

_Could I suffocate during the flight back? Of course they'll do up the front but-_

An identifying tag was being tied around his ankle; and Suzaku gritted his teeth and tried not to giggle as it tickled the soles of hopefully limp feet. Finished their morbid duty, the soldiers zipped up the front zipper, which went all the way over his head and instantly the black plastic was sweltering; the very small amount of air sour with preservatives. The darkness on front of his eyes deepened even farther as he was lain face down, intensifying his struggle to keep breaths at a minimum. He figured that an infinitesimal amount of oxygen was still coming in, and more importantly the carbon dioxide going out; for if not he would have certainly been dead by now.

What seemed like a millennium later Suzaku felt himself being lifted, and eventuallly plopped down on a soft surface; pushing some the air out of him. The accompanying _Uh!_ seemed painfully loud, but the soldiers thankfully didn't notice.

"Your Majesty, Sir Kururugi's body has been retreived as you ordered."

"Just dump it in there. His death is so inconvenient and the burial will cost me a fortune." Lelouch's voice was slightly muffled, but you could still hear the exhaustion somewhat disguised as annoyance.

_Come on, Lelouch...open the bag!_

The ragged pants were accelerating, and trying to slow them Suzaku closed his eyes and relaxed all of his muscles; hoping that Lelouch would-

"You can stop pretending now." The Emperor unzipped the bag and peeled it back from his face, and with a rustle of silk stepped back as his friend greedily sucked down air. No longer light-headed and being choked by chemical fumes the sting of Suzaku's wound returned, but upon closer examination it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd thought. But blood still dripped from the gash onto matching red velvet, and seeing the polished wood it was set in he realized that he was sitting in a coffin; his feet snugly reaching the exact length of it's interior. He poked the exposed tissue. "I actually will be dead if I keep bleeding." It was strange, as he'd been placed in what looked like a dining room.

"Get over it. Besides, blood is really hard to get out of something white. I don't want this to turn pink..." The Emperor swept over to something that leaned against a gilded chair. "And speaking of pink." Lelouch picked up the sheathed sword; his arm quivering from it's weight. Laying it down on the coffin's edge it gleamed in the chandelier's glow, giving it an oddly devilish charm. Even a side room such as this was excessively opulent, but despite the two weeks of hard living ahead of him Suzaku still didn't regret his anon departure.

"I just had it sharpened." Lelouch nudged it toward him. "It won't be hard to stick in me.'

As that sank in they reluctantly started laughing, an unexpected action that brought more pain to Suzaku's side. _I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he can laugh about his death. _After climbing rather awkwardly out of his own coffin Suzaku tried to not stagger over to a nearby chair, and as he sat noticed the accompanying table was set for three. Assorted pizzas on silver dishes let off a very tempting smell, and he really wanted something to eat after a long day of war.

"Your cut actually looks pretty bad... you'll have to be stitched up so you can leave with my soldiers this evening." Lelouch took the seat beside him and tossed him a linen napkins, which Suzaku carefully pressed to the wound, avoiding the ragged chunk of broken skin. "But it had to produce enough blood to make your death look convincing."

As if on cue C.C arrived, and seeing them adjusted Cheese-kun under her arm. "Having a gay old time, you two?" She asked as she took the seat opposite to Suzaku and put the plushie in the remaining one. She started serving herself some pizza as if there weren't a trail of scarlet across the floor. Rolling his eyes Suzaku also took a few of the pizza slices, interested to see how Lelouch would respond.

He sat up a bit straighter and scowled, adding lines to his forehead. "That's not necessary. We get enough of that bullshit from everyone else."

"Language, your majesty." Suzaku pushed the pizza box towards C.C.

After she put four slices on her plate she offered some to the Emperor. "Is it fine that I took all of the bacon?"

Suzaku began eating the flaky crust with gusto and Lelouch sullenly tossed his pillow hat onto the floor, where it landed on a sprinkle of blood. "If I wanted bacon then I would have eaten you, pizza pig."

As he swallowed the last of the chewy dough Suzaku couldn't help adding. "C2, You should take the pepperoni and onions and your breath would keep Lelouch away so he can't molest you anymore."

"I'm haven't molested anyone!" Lelouch stood up swiftly; the chair falling over with a crash. "I'm sick of this... and stop slurping the cheese, C2. It's disgusting."

After licking every last bit of grease off her plate C.C started on another slice, waiting until she'd devoured that as well before answering. "I can eat how I want. Here." She grabbed a trailing sash and used it to wipe her hands. "Don't let the servants throw the rest of the pizza away...I want to finish it tomorrow." Moving behind Lelouch the witch spoke quietly in his ear, but over the silence Suzaku heard every word. "Does the majestic highness of Brittainia require a mistress to entertain him?"

_Lelouch looks way too pleased with himself._

Looking pleased or not he just smirked. "How else would you earn your keep...make sure a bunch of people see you going into my room. They'll automatically assume the worst."

Suzaku waited for her to leave before he remarked. "Gross."

"It sounds worse than is, come on. It's not like I'm-"

"Using sympathy as a way to get her to sleep with you. Low...really low."

"Its not like that at all. But thanks for mentioning it, maybe I'll make the first move." He tossed the dirty sashes to the side, obviously regretting that. "It's difficult to explain...Would you laugh if I said that I...want more company? Cutting off my former life has completely isolated me from everyone. Even Nunnally." This wasn't the normal Lelouch; this was a man tired of going against the world and the world going against him.

"Yeah.. pretty stupid. Just don't get used to it."

"I don't think the 'it' you're thinking about is appropriate considering the situation... she knows too."

"Say no more, I don't want to hear any more. Really. I don't. Just keep in mind how this ends."

It took three days for Suzaku and the small group of soldiers to reach their destination. Traveling with them was a strange experience; as the men seemed completely devoid of any personal inhibitions and fitting in with living robots is harder than it sounds. Beginning their mission of destroying a rumored hotbed of rebels he helped them kick down the door; bristling with guns.

"Begin searching!" The captain ordered as the soldiers scattered throughout the seemingly deserted house.

Following suit Suzaku ignored the black mask as it flapped in his face and begin tearing through cabinets, his fingers slipping on polished brass pots and throwing dishes on the floor. When his superior got into an argument over whether firecrackers were suspicious or not he seized the opportunity to make his escape unnoticed. Lucky for him there was a back door, and Suzaku slunk through the dark hall and picked his way over a few shoes in various sizes, his hand on the doorknob when the noise reached his ears. The boot-stomping accelerated, accompanied by screams and what he hoped weren't gunshots. _He never told me these people would be killed! They weren't even supposed to be here!_ He quelled the heroic instinct that made him want to absorb those bullets...crouching to the floor and digging his nails between the dingy floorboards as the wall between him and the cacophony rattled and coughed up dust.

The silence afterwards served as a confirmation.

_Lelouch. This is your doing._

Civilians would know that too, they'd see the sign on door that warned of the dangers that going against the Emperor risked. The soldiers left through the front door; kicked down and lying in splinters amongst the newly dead. _But somehow this is still...I just sat there. _Trying to look away from vacant eyes and frozen limbs something made him pick up a trampled tablecloth and lay it over the bodies. As it quickly began sopping up the scarlet it looked like an overgrown version of something handed to him by a certain someone four nights ago.

_Maybe I won't feel so bad about killing you after all._

* * *

><p>Don't let them let them hear you say that, or the Emperor will have your whole family killed! = inspired this chappy<p>

Reviewer of the week: Divine Elly. Thanks :D This is going to sound hokey but the most interesting thing to me is the emotions and stuff like that.. just imagining how going through this stuff would be

Various News:

Because school starts very soon for me I'm moving updates to every other Friday. I'll also have a chance to work on those other stories I have ideas for.

C2's name will be mentioned later and you can vote on what you think it should be. I'm even such a fangirl that I have one picked out for the kid XD

_Scar Tissue _next... I had to do a lots of research for it.


	17. Scar Tissue

Chapter 17- Scar Tissue

Nunnally

Day after day, everything was the same. Nunnally would lie in bed from when she woke up until Saiyoko came to dress her at 9:30 in the morning, each gown specially tailored to hide the painful bed sores on her back and neck. Why do they keep making fun of me like this... Even this new one looked like the regal white robes branded into her memory-

"Empress? Are you alright?" She had unknowingly been twisting the blanket into sweaty knots, the intricate stitches straining.

"I hate it." Saiyoko looked more surprised than hurt, and Nunnally ignored that inkling of guilt that wanted to apologize. Still her nightdress was being unlaced from back, and the sleeves were slipping over her hands. Nunnally pulled away the best she could. "D-didn't you hear me? I don't want to put it on!"

"If you're still tired-"

"No! I don't...just..get rid of it."

Taking the dress back Saiyoko folded the heavy silk over one arm. "Well if you're unhappy with your wardrobe, you'll have to talk to Lady Cornelia."

_She'll do something about this!_ "Can you get her? I was wondering about some other things too. Thanks, Saiyoko." The maid placed the bundle on a chair, curtsied and left. Shortly after her departure someone knocked on the door. "Come in, Cornelia."

Entering with a few small black boxes under one arm her sister absently stokes the fire, letting a fuchsia wave of hair fall partially over her face. "Saiyoko told me you were having some problems with things to wear, so I brought these." Opening one of them she pulls out a string of a thick string of sapphires, sparkling in the firelight. "I hope you don't mind if they were C.C's, she never wore then and I just thought they'd be nice with your eyes."

Sitting up to see the enormous pile of jewelry her sister was unpacking Nunnally let a tear fall down her face. "And who got them for her?" _The stones are nothing...silver, dead and cold. Dead and cold. _"L-Lelouch did, didn't he?"

"Well he thought he could buy-"

A furious red seeps into the soon-to-be-Empresses cheeks. "My br- _our _brother would NEVER do something like that! Ever!"

"I know you're very sad, Nunnally, but it's not good to go around saying nonsense like that. You may have gotten along with Lelouch when you were younger but he was a sick man... a shame to Brittania, really. Those are morbid thoughts aren't good for you in this troubling time and Brittania's future with you as Empress-" Nunnally was infuriated by that condescending tone, the sympathy that welled in Cornelia's eyes that everyone around her had adopted. "It can be like a piece of him that you keep with you."

_Pieces._ Her stomach flip-flops when his wound comes to mind, how you could see everything internal not-so cleanly being absorbed by silk.

"Don't baby me!" Nunnally shreiks, not caring how shrill she sounds. "I don't want this! he's never coming back, I know! But stop dragging him through the mud!" Grabbign it from the nearby chair and flinging the dress into the fireplace she watches it start to blacken.

"Nunnally!" Cornelia scolds, as if the girl were a misbehaving house pet. "We're doing_ everything we can _to make this as easy as possible!" Snatching up the jewelry she hesitates, then puts it back down. "I can't force you to cooperate, but at least take some time to think about someone other than yourself. Saiyoko will be back after her break ...which starts right now." Sweeping out of the room Cornelia didn't have the heart to let the door slam, and closes it gently behind her.

Facedown in her pillow, Nunnally didn't see the smallest of flames trickle over the white fabric, forming a bridge to the carpet and oak floorboards. It was the smoke and crackling that alerted her, and sitting up she first couldn't believe what was happening. Red tongues of heat were licking up the convienently wood mantelpiece and igniting the intricate tapestries. Taking a good lungful of baking air, that's when she started screaming. Sour clouds of smoke were getting bigger by the moment as the fire devoured the room in record time.

"Empress! EMPRESS!" A chorus of voices are audible over the symphony of destruction, Cornelia no doubt the one trying to smash down the door.

Nunally wailed, covering her head with shaking hands as the fire devoured the walls and the room began dissolving around her. She ducked her head and whimpered softly. "Help me, please! Somebody! Please help!"

_I must... get out of here_! Tufts of blanket werent enough to pull her seemingly dead weight off the bed, and the floor was alight anyways. _I need to move **somewhere**. I must! I HAVE TO!_ Her thoughts became more and more incoherent as she inhaled more of the smoke. "Help! Please..." she could have been thinking those words for all the effect they had, her rescuers blocked by the burning door and rubble. "Lelouch..." a raspy plea to the spirit she desperatly hoped was always with her, swallowed by fits of coughing that shook her to the core. Black dribbled from the corner of her mouth, and feeling woozy she curled up on the bed that would soon become her pyre, the concentration of smoke a sneakier killer than it's source.

Nunnally assumed that her rescuers had fled the spreading flames, and realizing that no one would come _(or cared enough to)_ she sits in the deadly calm not unlike the one when her brother died, deaf as parts of the ceiling collapse in a cloud of sparks. It wouldn't be long before the voracious flames caught the dangling bedskirt on fire, and though its a hard thought to swallow, she accepts that all the pain will end soon._ I've been burning since you died, Lelouch. From sorrow or anger I don't know, but the only thing I do is that I'll be with you soon... _Damp prickles under her arms and slides down her forehead, the air sweltering and nearly impossible to breath. Falling back on her pillow just like the times her brother had carefully put her to bed Nunnally's eyes started to droop, the cocktail of fumes making her wonder if the next part of this twisted reality was indeed real. Clinging to the wall like a suicidal judging the height, at last the Brittanian flag was engulfed by the omnipotent fire.

_This was all just a nightmare in the end..._

A gentle rain of crumbling ash singed holes in the baby blue sheets, the unconscious girl hardly noticing the flakes that stung her face and arms...…_"Big brother, when you die, how do you want it to happen?"_ The door is slashed through with a sword, the coughs of Zero sounding strange with the voice changer. _"Don't talk about things like that." Lelouch picks at the ring of flowers that Euphie had made for him and brushes the pieces of grass off his impeccably kept pants. Nunally squeals when he tickles her sides, and stops suddenly; making an escape. Stumbling slightly over the hem of her skirt Nunnally bolts after him, quickly catching up and barreling into him. As he feverishly checks for grass stains she proudly proclaims. "I would like to have it happen in my sleep...safe and cozy in a warm bed." _In her mind the room was sodden with deadly silence, like the very same as her brother took all evil to Hell with him; to her the world was watching this too, it's icon of hope to perish in the inferno.

The mask protected Zero's face from the walls of dark smoke, a roiling stream escaping through the destroyed door and gaping holes in the hallway. He ignores the hungry blazes that lick at his legs, careful not to jostle the Empress in his arms. A certain curse kept him moving fast, but not quick enough to avoid what he hoped weren't serious burns on his back, and anywhere else the Zero suit had been damaged. Tearing his cape free from a twisted piece of metal the the doors are in sight, and despite the growing lightheadedness from smoke Zero gives one last spurt of speed.

"The Empress! He has the Empress!" Paramedics rush over, snatching Nunnally away and preparing a tangle of plastic tubes. The group of evacuated servants and soldiers are helping extinguish the massive flames from a safe distance, led by Lady Cornelia herself. The compound is flooded with workers, all of them intent on salvaging the palace. Explosions from fuel and the kitchens have mostly destroyed the inside, but the exterior shell could still be salvaged. Zero leans against a crimson fire truck, careful to stay out of everyone's way. His chest is tight from what he assumes to be exertion, and checking the suit for any more holes his eyes are drawn to a pool of leaking water before he's face down in it. The unfortunate trainee who was assigned to taking away bodies passes by, abandoning her cart when she sees the man's fallen form. Knowing smoke inhalation is the almost definitely the cause, she doesn't hesitate to remove the smothering mask of Zero, revealing the soot-smeared face of Suzaku Kururugi.

* * *

><p>I have FOUR new stories out! One of them, Subhuman, was roughly how I intended this story to end but since I sometimes take ideas from the reviews (buzzword!) that I'm left this story has obviously changed. These updates will continue to be bi-monthly, and I want to keep working on Bleeding Heart. Next chappy is back to Lelouch...and I think you know what happens. The only scenes of this story I was initially interested in doing was chapter...4, is it? Where C.C finds out he's alive..but it all morphed into this. Since people are subscribing to <span>Human<span> and Obediance I might, MIGHT continue them- argh all these ideas just attacked me now I have to write them down, grr.

I was talking to this guy in Bio about Code Geass and he said that I "should read this really good fanfic called In the End."

Reviewer of the Week: Black White Demons

I didn't think much of that line, but peeps keep mentioning it...anywho, I like your name:)

_Revelation_


	18. Revelation

"It is nothing to die; it is frightful not to live."

Victor Hugo

Chapter 18- Revelation

Lelouch

A growing sensation of dread bubbled in his stomach as he strode gracefully up the last set of stairs he would ever climb, taking every single detail in like a starving man; the bright heat of the sun, the smell of grass and morning chill. The dimming autumn colours that stained the flowers seemed vibrant and in his head a replay button. _There's no turning back now._ He thought as the float, complete with the prisoners and Nunnally, slowly lurched forward.

Lelouch scanned the scene, catching sapphire eyes that finally could see; a pair of eyes that made him long to cry with joy. Nunally. Lelouch ignored the sharp tug in his chest and gave her a nasty sneer for good measure, denying the very same brotherly instinct that had gotten him this far. He couldn't stand to see the expression she would have responded with, so he focused his eyes on the enormous hordes of people that wanted him dead.

His cape swirling like a deadly cloud of oil Zero reached where the detested Emperor sat, evading Jeremiah just as they had planned. Lelouch pulled out a gun from where it had been hidden, his finger slipping on the trigger as Zero lashed out with his sword. The thunderclap of a shot rang out and Suzaku was thrown backwards when the bullet peirced his chest. Letting the gun clatter from his hand the Emperor quickly made the connection between the gun and what had just happened, his mouth stupidly dropping open with shock. A puddle of crimson formed underneath Zero's dying body, forming a slight stream that trickled down the ramp. Someone in the crowd started screaming, and the mob began pushing furiously at the barricades that restrained them. Every part of Lelouch wanted to fall to his knees and beg the dead man to come back alive, to fullfill his purpose, that damn Japanese man who (_supposed to... **has** to) _carry on the legacy of Zero. Gently tugging the sword from his still-warm hand, the Emperor knew what he had to do and did it before he could hesitate, knowing it was indeed the only way.

_Will you forget me, Nunnally?_ Hefting the heavy blade in one hand, feeling for the exact spot that would bring almost sudden death with the other, in one clean swipe he brought the swords edge across his neck, making sure the cut was deep enough to be irreparable. _Will you forgive me?_ The sun's brightness increased a thousandfold as a feeling he'd never felt before spread from that spot and as the blinding pain receded, his mind told him that he had cut himself shaving, unaware as curtains of red scalded his hands, the very ones that were instinctively clutched where the sword had cut. More hands (_Must be Jeremiah's)_ failed to keep Lelouch from tripping over the fallen Zero, the man urgently saying something Lelouch couldn't hear. The tiny rational part of him left assumed he was in his last seconds, the fire in his neck receding to a dull throb _(It's endorphins numbing the pain...what pain?)_ his body trying to give him a chance to escape the nonexistent danger. Before his vision swam into darkness, he caught a last glimpse of Nunnally, a red darker than her dress splattered across her face. His neck didn't agree to this action, a ripple of pure elation seizing his oxygen-deprived brain. _This isn't nearly as bad as I thought. _A pink foamy laugh sloshed out of his mouth-

A sharp intake of breath woke him up, and with his face tucked into C.C's shoulder he guessed it was the crick in his neck that had worked it's way into the nightmare. Relief that he still could breathe was the only thing he could think, the thudding in his ears that seemed to circulate icewater into each limb slowing.

After getting out of bed the demon combed his hair in the spotted bathroom mirror; and while missing the luxury of hot water he looked at the faint outline of a Geass symbol that stretched across his forehead, only a few shades darker than his paper-white skin. The borrowed shirt he put on fit slightly better after all of the manual labor he'd done over the last few months, only fitting badly around his shoulders. At somehwhat of a crossroads bwtween the subdued Lelouch Lamperouge or the cutthroat rebel Zero, he was torn over how the thrill of battle had been replaced by a paltry tangle of everyday activities..._But isn't that what life is?_

Leaving the tiny bathroom he switched the bucket that C.C slept with on the floor beside her bed. _I wonder how long the flu is going to last._ Admiring her face for a second Lelouch refused to consider any other causes for her prolonged illness.

As a last-minute thought he took down the stack of laundry, everything in it borrowed from Jermiah and Anya. The household was careful about the quantity of everything they used, especially food, for it would be suspicious if Anya (the only one who did the shopping) suddenly started buying double quantities of everything. A dissapointing orange crop made money scarce, and if they didn't finish harvesting within the next few days the rest would be killed off in the frost.

After adding to the pile of clothes to be washed and sorting them the early November sun hadn't completely risen yet, and Lelouch moved the next task, mixing the ingredients for the muffins he'd promised to make. Slightly concerned over how sparse the cupboards were he slid the dented pan in the oven. As they baked he pulled out a newspaper article, creased and wrinkled after being read so many times. Though the paper was yellowing and the ink smudged, the months-old article still brought him comfort.

* * *

><p>POLITICAL EXTREMISTS BURN VICEROY'S PALACE TO THE GROUND- EMPRESS INJURED<p>

..."There's no doubt that [former Emperor] Lelouch's supporters are to blame for this tragedy." says Lady Cornelia, waiting to see Empress Nunnally in her hospital room. "They wanted to kill her, Zero, and as many people as possible." Luckily, a timely evacuation prevented any deaths from occurring, though several were injured. Speaking to the doctor in charge of her care team we were informed of her condition. "Empress Nunnally suffers from smoke inhalation, severe burns and emotional trauma. Had Zero not rescued her in time, she would have certainly died. She has recovered consciousness and is responding well to the oxygen and her burns are starting to heal." When asked about how this would effect her crowning, Lady Cornelia told us the news herself. Refusing medical attention until everyone else has been seen first she sits back in her chair, knitting singed eyebrows. "Unfortunately the palace was completely gutted, and though reconstruction has been planned to start tomorrow it will take several months at a minimum to even re-fortify the exterior. Nunnally's health is our top priority, and though she has exemplary care, on top of her existing disabilities it will take a substantial amount of time for a full recovery."

Requests about whether Zero was amongst the injured were denied.

* * *

><p><em>She's alive. <em>Lelouch needed that reminder whenever he thought of the smoldering rubble they showed on TV from time to time. Brittania as a whole seemed to have forgotten about it's creepy fixation on C.C, and this time it was the remnants of his army that were making headlines._ I hope she isn't smothered by Brittania as I was. Now I guess I'm just living for myse- dammit! _The smell of burning muffins reaches his nose, and when he pulls the scorched bread out of the oven C.C is sitting at the table, watching with a curious expression.

She taps her plate expectantly. "You're an excellent little housewife."

Hiding a smirk and ignoring how they burned his hands Lelouch put two of the muffins on her plate. "Good morning to you, too." As she ate he remembered something. "So you're feeling better?"

"I haven't been sick in over six hundred years." Dusting the crumbs off her hands she pushed in her chair, unexpectedly hugging her partner. "How is your stomach doing? Any problems with eating?" She asked, frantically pawing at his shirt to see the scar. When it's visible her lip trembled, the words tumbling out. "It's all my fault you're in so much pain. If I hadn't...you would've been..."

Startled by this change of pace he awkwardly patted her arm and traced each little bone in her spine, pressing on the ones she had said were sore. "I'm not in any pain, calm down." _What the... _"But what does pain me is how you never help with anything."

"The cozy routine of harvesting oranges is boring."

"Watching TV is boring, and that's all you ever do."

She scoffed with contempt and disentangled herself, undoing the top buttons of the shirt she had stolen from him awhile ago. "Did you know that it's become a trend among prostitutes to dye their hair green?"

"Umm, no."

"They think it's what helped me snag the Emperor as my lover. See? I learned something."

Lelouch took his homely straw hat off of the hook on the wall, all to aware of how painful sunburn could be even if it healed within minutes. "Very nice. Now go get dressed, _properly._" He eyed her Cheese-kun patterned pajama shorts with distaste. _Freaking Cheese-kun._ "We have to get this harvest done before the frost comes."

* * *

><p>The waxy leaves on each tree reflected the florid colours of evening; their fruit gathered in sacks that rested at C.C's feet. For comfort they were underneath a soft layer of hay, filling the horse-drawn cart to it's brim. Her hair braided and skin damp with sweat she made an attempt at conversation with the driver, chewing over the words carefully."I used to think that Geass would only bring lonliness. Guess I was wrong..."<p>

Lelouch smiled, definitely sure that after their hard day's work together she was also thinking of this newfound ease between them. An amorphous blob of time these last few weeks had been, wounds of abandoned friendships and family almost healed. "Of course...who could be a better mate for a witch than a demon?"

"Hah. I wonder if they think you still sleep on the floor."

"They probably don't care, as long as I'm not corrupting your innocence." If he could see the witch Lelouch would have given her a lecherous sneer, but the fence posts meant to mark the road's end always gave him trouble while he was driving the cart.

As the cart came to halt she climbed over the side, the dress fluffing out around her knees. "Demons belong under my bed, not in it."

The short walk back to the farmhouse felt unreal, as if they'd warped back in time a couple hundred years. Dinner was pleasant, everyone pooling their respective culinary talents to make do with the last scraps of whatever food was left. When the meal was finished, C.C claimed to be 'nauseatingly full' and was making a big deal about having no hot water left for her shower. Thinking himself pretty darn hysterical Lelouch crawled under the bed; not exactly sure what was going to happen when C.C got back. He sneezed as a _(terrifyingly large_) dust bunny drifted by, his elbows sore after waiting for what seemed like hours. Lelouch went to investigate, surprised that the hum of water still coursed through the wall. Knocking on the door he received no answer, and after she didn't answer to her name decided to venture in. Apparently she had discovered the hot water for the room was full of steam and the shower curtain ran with moisture.

"Is everything...okay?" He could almost make out sobbing underneath the torrent of water. "C2?" The water shut off, nothing but a steady drip.

He finally heard her voice; a terse monotone. "I looked at my stomach, Lelouch. For a really long time. And..and it's bigger."

Lelouch didn't know whether to be completely honest, and was astonished that C.C of all people would resort to such insecurity. "You've been eating a ton so I'm not surprised-"

"No! But what if this...bigness..and the eating are both because of the same thing?"

"Are you saying that you think you're pregnant? That's ridiculous."

"Bring me a towel."

He grabbed one of the scratchy towels and gave it to her at arm's length so he wasn't peeking in. Sodden wet C.C's hair was more of a kelp-ish colour as she stepped over the tub's edge, and with gasp her foot slid and she fell towards the cold tile floor, Lelouch stunning even himself when he caught her. She seemed shaken, and adopting a reassuring tone previously reserved for Nunnally he held her a bit tighter. "I've got you. You're fine."

"Can I get dressed.."

"Sure."

She sat on the floor as he dug around for those stupid Cheese-kun shorts, and handed her them and one of his clean shirts.

"I want one that you've already worn."

"Why? That's kinda gross..."

"They smell good."

"Alright, I'll find a dirty one then."

While she got dressed he sat on the bed, his mind tumultuously processing C.C's discovery. When she came out C.C reached for a pillow instead of him, mashing it into a vaguely Cheese-kun-like shape. She sat cross-legged like this for a long time, and Lelouch broke the silence. "You're too old to be pregnant, C2."

"I was around eighteen when I got the Code. My body hasn't changed in almost a thousand years and suddenly it's making a new one."

Forcing a desperate-sounding laugh he pushed the stray pieces of hair aside from her face. "That's not funny, considering what it would do to Nunnally...". He trailed off when he saw she wasn't laughing.

C.C squeezed the pillow tighter until it was a tiny ball. "If you think about it, it all makes sense. The throwing up, and _this_." She pinched the soft part of her thigh, scowling at the small bit of extra fat.

"Stop talking like it actually exists."

She pulled up the bottom of her shirt and tugged the shorts a bit lower. "Look."

The slight bulge was unmistakably low, and Lelouch felt exactly the same as he had when Suzaku was killed in his dream. In that spilt second Lelouch makes a three observations. 1. Her stomach did look a bit bigger 2. He might be a father 3. If he freaked out, then she would too."How did this happen..." It came out as an incredulous whisper.

**_I hardly have the right to be alive, let alone a parent._**

C.C put the wet strands of hair behind her ears for what seemed like the thousandth time. "Let's see, when a man and a woman love each other very much-"

"No! How did I let this happen?" His limbs felt heavy..too heavy to move.

She seemed very underwhelmed by his reaction. "You're not mad?"

"At myself..yes. For being so stupid and irresponsible." _Deep breaths..._

"But that was partly my fault. I could have said-"

"You can't help being able to get pregnant, C2. I know it's terrible timing with all this attention towards you, but they've got Nunnally to focus on. The only thing I'm worried about...no, one of the things I'm worried about is Jermiah and Anya..when you really start showing we'll have to tell them."

"I don't know how far along I am... we've only slept together twice. So give or take two weeks."

_I know I know I know I must keep calm. _The situation demanded him to push all of the overwhelming negative emotions to the side, no doubt having to face them later.

"We should figure out when it was conceived." he said, gently touching her soft stomach. "Because you're supposed to see a doctor around a certain time-"

"I don't see how it should matter. Nothing can hurt me."

"But the baby's health, C2."

"Why does it matter? We don't want it!" she speaks from between her fingers, clutching her face as if she'd gone blind. Less fervent this time. "Nobody wants it."

"Would being my wife make you feel better?" Again, as if C.C needed it in plainer language. "Do you want me to marry you?"

She rubbed the tear stains on her face and stood up. "Ask me properly."

Lelouch led her off of their bed, trying to be sincere when he got down on one knee. "Cecinah Chulainn...will you marry me?"

"No. I just wanted to see you do that. And besides, what difference would it make. It doesn't matter whether I'm your wife or not, I'm still having our child."

Standing up and beginning to pace Lelouch let this process, what could be a solution dawning on him. "Wait...if we're not already married then the child would be an illegitimate! So it can't inherit the throne instead of Nunnally!" He frantically searched through all of his memories of living in Brittania as a prince; all the complicated laws he had memorized as a child when looking for some clause or condition that would let him be Emperor. "If it's a girl. It can't surpass Nunnally if it's a girl."

All the same, some part of him had the strong urge to mourn; not for the loss of life but for the creation of it.

* * *

><p>Ramblings: Oh yeah, I was doodling in class when I got this HUGE idea for this story. Like, big enough to make a sequel. But as long as I can pull a massive time skip (already have that chapter done:) I can tie it into this. Nicknames for Lelouch my friends and I have come up with: PUD (psychotic undying dictator), DSC (demented sexy creeper), and my favorite: pink-swordy death. Please don't gripe that I left out "Right, Lelouch?" because it wouldn't fit the scene. I did this all in one sitting...six hours writing instead of being at school (cuz i stayed home today like a big girl)<br>Reviewer of the Week: anime-lyric

ooolala~ I hoped you liked this chapter:)

_Travail_


	19. Travail

Chapter 19 -Travail

Kallen

Despite having part of it destroyed, Ashford Academy had returned to what could be considered normal. Oh, how the alumni were thrilled to have a war veteran in attendance, and Kallen didn't really get why she received such envious expressions whenever she was called out of class by the government. Though she normally hated the attention, in her least favorite class she wished that would happen right now.

"Dramatic irony, class. When you wish you could grab the shoulders of the characters and shout 'Can't you see?' Poor little Jeremy in this story suffered such a fate. The wolves ate him before he could explain his true intentions, and now nobody will ever know that- Rivalz!" the teacher stopped pacing, pointing her finger at him like a pistol. "Unstick that gum or I'll have you cleaning desks in detention."

Once the disruption was handled the teacher continued her drabble on a subject Kallen already knew too much about. _Just look at the newspaper. That's enough irony to last a lifetime_..._pulling in all these expert psychology quacks to keep making stupid claims about Lelouch. I've never known the media to have such an long attention span._

She chewed on the end of her pencil; deliberately blocking out the irksome whispers behind her. Yes, they were still there. The fascination with a real, live political prisoner that still hadn't faded. _I wonder if they'd be so obsessed with me if they knew what my duties are now. Parties, photo-ops, shaking the hands of politicians-_

One girl didn't bother keeping her voice down. "I heard she was personally tortured by the Emperor himself! Like, I dunno if that's true but….terrifying, isn't it?"

_He's still torturing me, only in a different way._

"Omigod! That would be terrible.." Kallen heard the other girl say, and about to shoot her a dirty look she was grateful of when the new student did. Many were sent here because of the FLEIJA's destruction, if families could afford to send their precious little son or daughter away to boarding school so they wouldn't suffer amongst the commoners. The mass displacement was still a problem, food shortages and disease looming in the near future if it wasn't handled soon.

At the end of the seemingly endless period Kallen caught up with the new girl's quick pace, not bothered by how heavy her literature books were. "Hey, Jane. Wasn't that lesson so obnoxious?"

"Yeah…but at least I got to catch up on some sleep."

Making new friends; or at least meeting new people, was refreshing. No more being bothered by personal questions about Lelouch or sympathetic wishes whenever the 'news' was particularly awful. The student council quickly replaced her after she quit, and Kallen hardly saw those people any more. They seemed like part of a different lifetime, for after a few weeks of their company she couldn't stand being urged to move on from whatever she'd had with the deceased Emperor. But of course Zero's ace pilot _(the _**_real _**_Zero)_ would have never have loved such a monster anyways, so concerned inquiries were met always with denial. According to the palace Zero was doing just fine at the citadel where they had re-located to, but he was surprisingly absent from any political ceremonies.

As they both waded through the crowded hallways the whispering girl bumped into them. "Ohhhh sorry." _No you're not._ "I know it was, like, awhile ago... but can I ask you a few questions? My friends and I have just been dying to know..."

Kallen had learned how to deal with people like this and just kept walking as she was bombarded by questions. "Did you actually meet Lelouch? Did he talk to you? Was he as hot in real life as he looked on TV? Did you meet C2? Was she nice? Did she look glowy? Do you-" Seeing a quick escape Kallen cut through a herd of stampeding sophomores, and ignoring their wide-eyed stares swept into her next cless, not bothered by how she was the first student to make it there. Soon class would start, a torrent of numbers and information that would hopefully drown any troublesome memories.

* * *

><p><em>Zero's mask split right down the center, the hollow sound of it hitting the floor echoing throughout the damp cavern. Rust-color dripped from where the bullet had nearly pierced his face. As he stepped forward into the single beam of sunlight she and Suzaku could see the victorious slash his mouth had formed into.<em>

_"I am Zero." And he seemed to be loving every second of it._

* * *

><p>Each tick of the clock was audible in the hospital's waiting room, something Kallen would much rather focus on then her homework. The work was easy for her, but there seemed no point in doing it. She would much rather think of things to call the kid who sat at Lelouch's empty seat and had wasted no time in wiping boogers on it. <em>Repulsive, filthy little sonofa-<em>

"Kallen, you can see her now." The receptionist interrupted her mental stream of abuse.

With a rustle of papers Kallen slung her backpack over one shoulder and followed a nurse down the hospital's brightly lilt hallway, and upon reaching the specially designated section was checked for weapons, passing as usual. Nunnally's code name was under the room number, three guards stationed at all times. Kallen knew that Nunnally was expecting her, but knocked anyways.

"C-come in." Rasped the girl, her voice weaker than she looked. Gauze was neatly wrapped around a lot of the skin on her arms, to keep her from scratching the itchy burns in her sleep. The fire had shown no mercy, scalding the insides of her lungs and burning a great deal of her long hair and skin. Suzaku had been in too much of a hurry to think of something like that, and had he taken the extra time to be careful they both would have died.

"Were you sleeping? I can back later-"

"No!" The monitors went crazy, their whiny beep accelerating. "I'm fine! Really." Nunally closed her eyes and kept them like that, as if annoyed with herself. "It's..you...you're the only person to visit me this week who hasn't been spewing sympathy and reminding me every second of the day just how sick I am. I'd like to hear about something normal." Her new haircut added years to her face.

Kallen almost told Nunally how much she had sounded like her brother. Instead trying her hardest to inject a bit optimism as she began a cheery rundown of what had happened since her last visit. "Oh..okay then. Well my mother is doing pretty well. She's started cooking again and the withdrawal has mostly gone away...I mean, some nights are worse than others, but...ah, lots of new people at Ashford."

Nunally gestured to a stack of papers by her bedside. "Five hundred. Cornelia's keeping me posted on how refugees are rebuilding their lives." Her voice dropped to a throaty whsiper. "She doesn't let me do much, as if I can't handle it or something."

"I'm sure she doesn't...I think you're perfectly capable."

"Thanks." The girl's smile made up for the tubes sticking from her wrist, and she addressed someone who Kallen suddenly realized had been standing in the doorway the for her entire visit. "Is it time already?"

The nurse clucked her tongue and wheeled over more evil-looking equipment. "Yes. Miss Kouzaki, will you please.."

After she stood up Kallen promised Nunally to visit her again soon, and walking alone down the faceless expanse of polished wooden doors got a reckless idea. She marched up to the men who guarded her destination, straightening her back to look extra authoritative and convincing. "Zero sent for me. May I go in?"

She was on first name basis with this new crop of soldiers, and could see them wracking their brains for the proper protocol. "Kall- Miss Kouzaki...we are under strict orders not to permit visitors."

"C'mon, Avice. You know I'm not up to anything. I haven't seen him since...I want to thank him."

When his counterpart shrugged the guard stepped aside from the door, whipping out his flashy keycard and making a show of unlocking the door. "Ten minutes."

The mediciney smell was more pungent in here, and the blinding white floor tiles shone with polish. Tattered black material had been tossed on one of the chairs, and when Kallen drew closer she could smell smoke under all the sterility. Every window had been quadruple draped, the only illumination coming from a TV screen. With his legs resting over the side Suzaku was sitting on his bed. He sullenly punched the black remote that was clutched between his fingers like a prized possession., and it was the crunch of newspapers under Kallen's feet that alerted him of her presence. She couldn't fathom why he didn't look the least bit surprised.

Not taking his eyes off the screen Suzaku let out one hoarse statement. "You passed."

It was a strange sense of disappointment that fueled her anger, and her anger that caused her to stride over and chop the remote out of his hand. "Passed? Passed what? We finally meet after...I dunno..after you kill...dammit! This isn't some sort of ninja movie! And what the hell is all of this crap?" Taking fistfuls of the newspapers she threw them in his face like confetti. Following his gaze the TV she recognized the face on it's screen. Underlit by an ominous blue glow, the world literally at his feet...

Suzaku picked up the remote and hit play. "Obey me, subjects. Obey me, WORLD!" With a sneer and his signature arm flick Lelouch commanded the world to obey him. The recording was of poor quality, but you could still see the triumph eeking from every pore. Seeing how Suzaku's finger twitched towards replay she took the remote again and flung it against the wall, where it shattered into plastic rain. With the screen frozen on their former Emperor's face, Suzaku sighed.

"His test. You passed it." He took her arched eyebrow as a sign to continue. "I'm sure that Lelouch was somehow trying to use all this negative press as a way to sort out who his friends really were. Congrats."

"You're sure... did he actually tell you this? And why does that make you want to watch all of his old speeches?"

"He was my best friend, Kallen. Was." The upward jerk of Suzaku's head was too forced to appear casual. He was pointing to milky white ovals that traced his jaw. "He thought of everything, but couldn't even make the mask fit me."

For some reason she felt the need to echoe that. "The mask doesn't fit you."

She expected his features to contort with fury, disappointed again. "Psh. And about the speeches, I'm looking for a mistake. That one little Freudian slip that shows he was lying to us all."

"He was lying to us...the public, everyone. That's the point." She tore open the curtains, making it easier to see the shiny white patches that curled around Suzaku's neck. Against his bronzed skin they looked like some kind of exotic tattoo. He kicked the rolling metal frame that the TV was attached too, the cuff of his hospital-issued pants momentarily sliding up to reveal even more white n' shiny. With her back to him and looking out his window, Kallen imagined she was in her mother's hospital room until Suzaku joined her. She jumped when he placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping he had come to his senses and that everyhthing would be okay and she wasn't missing something and it would be up to them to savour this twisted sense of victory that Lelouch deserved to feel, the world would forget, move on, heal, finally able to enjoy it's newfound-

"Look." The small snippet of paper crinkled in Suzaku's hands, his nails rimmed with dried blood. "Read it."

It took her eyes a few seconds to unfocus from that idealized reality, and she began reading. "Emperor Lelouch, his Majestic Highness of Brittania is proud to announce that his mistress and consort, known by the intials C.C... why...this is months old. What does this have to do with that crazy honesty test thing?" Kallen hoped he coulldn't see her stinging cheeks.

Suzaku let is float to the floor. "Lelouch lied about this. That was never part of the plan! He always was a dirty, cheating liar. I should have-"

"Well maybe it was just improv. He might have wanted to have a good laugh before he died. And you just said you were best friends. You of all people would know him"

He looked at the close-up of Lelouch that was frozen on the TV screen. "It actually seems like I didn't. He was crazy. Mad. l...a head shrink said so. And he was the one who ordered Euphie to be disowned after the special zone. You see, Kallen. I didn't know anything about this guy at all."

* * *

><p>I'd say the next chapter was the hardest to write so far, and now that this insanely busy week is over I have time write it. High school is so different, cramming won't cut it anymore. ORZ. And because I'm such a fangirl I'm taking baby name suggestions, for each gender. Something European-ish that sounds good with 'Lamperouge' and 'vi Brittainia'.<p>

Reveiwer of the Week: anime-lyric  
>Since the show was so vague about the terms of immortality I've just been winging it:) She can get pregnant...because I said so and wouldn't have a plot otherwise.<p>

_Schism_


	20. Schism

Chapter 20-Schism

C.C

A pulse of sunlight evanesced through crystalline windows, gold-threaded tapestries accenting the gilt spattered on Lelouch's throne. He was leaning slightly to the side and his eyes were closed with sleep; and as C.C peeked at him she felt like pulling some kind of prank. _Can't have His Majesty sleeping on the job._ Needing some warm water to submerge his hand in she started towards the kitchen, getting annoyed by the soft noises made by her jewelry clinking together when a flash came from behind her. "_No pictures of the Emperor when he's not awake!"_ she fumed, turning to see a bored-looking teenager in a polo shirt holding a giant camera.

The girl, her name tag reading 'Meg', rolled her eyes at C.C. "Puh-leze. That picture will cost you a dollar."

_"What?"_ she had the overwhelming urge to slap some sense into the girl, for the Emperor would let his mistress get away with anything.

"Don't go all psycho on me, lady. Look at the sign."

C.C turned around, to see Lelouch in the same position but instead uniformly white with small rivulets of gray running through, as if he were made of marble. Sure enough, sitting in the busy town square that had replaced the throne room a sign toted 'Brittania's Historical Destination #3: Statue of 99th Emperor.'

_"Lelouch!"_ she ran towards it, her gown now in rags. Before she could reach him someone grabbed her around the waist. A sonorous, gravelly voice boomed in her ear.

"Where do you think you're going, C2?" Charles zi Brittania looked at her with hunger in his beady eyes and she closed her gold ones with disgust, repulsed by the clammy arms that held her almost affectionately. Suddenly she was standing in a roiling sea of bisque and amber as it swirled around the Sword of Akasha, the stench of ozone coating C.C's throat and making every breath taste like metal.

C.C felt a hand tap her shoulder. _"No!"_ She thrashed away from it, thinking Charles was trying to steal her Code. _I have to wait...stop it.._."Stop!"

In the real world Lelouch stopped trying to wake her up. "I'll just let your soup go cold, then." He said, sitting back down opposite to her. C.C was partially slumped over in her chair with a cloth tied across her chest like a seat belt, this not being the first time she had fallen asleep mid-meal.

"Lelouch... sorry." she blinked a couple of times, getting used to the light. "My dream... this chick kept trying to take my picture.." She didn't know whether to tell him about the part with Charles.

He slurped the homemade vegetable broth off his spoon and pressed the hot metal to her hand. "I spooned you."

C.C almost smacked her forehead but sighed instead. "Someone is quite the comedian today."

"I'll at least try to make you smile."

Unknotting the cloth she dumped the rest of her bowl in the sink and watched it swirl down the drain. "What would make me smile is a pizza... or three. From Pizza Hut. I'm tired of having soup for dinner."

"You know I'm not wealthy like I used to be...and besides, who's the order going to be for, anyway? Brittania's number one most wanted? Now that we're living by ourselves we need to be frugal, and with the baby coming who knows how much stuff we'll need to buy? We've gone over this before!"

"You can do all the saving, but I need food. A twiggy person like you doesn't have a baby depending on them."

"Twiggy? I have a light build, unlike people who make irrational demands for pizza. Besides, you need good nutrients, not just a pile of greasy cheese and poor-quality meat." Lelouch poked his temples , looking unduly exhausted. "You should get some rest, C2. All this crankiness means you're tired."

A few weeks ago, Lelouch had thought it time for them both to move out since her pregnancy was becoming more and more apparent, settling with a ramshackle house on a small hill within the northern edge of Jeremiah's orchard, perhaps originally for a farmhand. On a good day the walk to his house was around an hour, and to bypass this inconvenience they kept a horse in a small stable that had been hastily scrapped together. At only four rooms there was still space for a nursery, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. The nursery was slowly but surely coming along, it's walls newly painted a cheerful peach, the result of mixing other colours found lying around. It was a big adjustment after a palace, or even a farmhouse with it's semi-reliable plumbing and electricity, but they had to keep their secret somehow.

Furniture had been improvised and the only thing they were actually going to buy was a crib for the when the baby came. That is, after telling Jeremiah and Anya, something they were not looking forward to at all. Homemade toys and clothes would have to do, and Lelouch even convinced C.C to pick up the knitting needles once and a while. They thought it was funny, a revolutionist and his counterpart spending their evenings making clothes like two old ladies.

Opening the makeshift fridge to look for some mozzarella and sausage C.C began shoving jars aside. "What would be good on this pizza are some sardines, peppers, and strawberry slices."

"Don't make a mess."

"Why don't you ever cook pizzas for me? And I'm not just asking that because, according to you, I'm-" she gasped a little and touched her midsection, where the discernible bump under her shirt was just starting to reach her bellybutton.

"More kicking?" Lelouch pushed in his 'chair' and put his hand beside hers. After a minute he squeezed her fingers. "Wish I could feel it."

She crossed her arms with a disdainful snuff. "It's annoying."

It had been mid-November when C.C first felt the butterfly tingle of the baby's movement. She was scared at first; the complete verification that there was indeed a new life budding inside her. With excitement she'd woken Lelouch from the fevered sleep of nightmares he never admitted to, their daughter or son's first movement bringing an almost epiphany. She was going to have a baby. Her baby, Lelouch's baby, their child together. It wasn't simply an idea like love, but a fact. By existing it demanded a future; to crawl in, walk in, live in. A future that, for the first time awhile, was something to look forward to.

At that moment C.C felt a strange surge of happiness; like holding a warm stone and feeling it's inner heat radiate to her hand. "Lucca can tell when we're talking about her."

"Huh. I don't believe that." Lelouch skulked over to the sink and tugged on the stubborn taps, finally freeing some lukewarm dishwater. "And 'Lucca' sounds more like an irritating pet name. Something as bad as calling a guy Lulu."

"Why do you have to be so bitter...then maybe Elise? Nataline? " C.C sat on the splintery crates of firewood they used as a couch.

"If you have a girl. We have no idea about that, remember. But I do think it would be good to start considering names. What about Ciel or Marielle? And for a boy, Etienne."

"Marielle sound too much like 'Marianne', but Etienne is okay." _Though she'll always be my little Lucca._ She disregarded the male names but knew that wanting a girl was something you never said to someone, not even yourself. "It's only six or something...do you want to see another memory?" Figuring she had too much history to talk about they had done this occasionally; Lelouch just curious about what kind of things she'd gone through.

"Sure." He touched the glowing sign on her forehead, both of them standing side by side as they watched something from the 1300's that C.C herself had almost forgotten.

* * *

><p>A battered, green-haired woman was tied by her hands to a stake. She didn't cry as the ropes around her wrists were tightened, and the robed man to her left opened a dusty book and began to read. "Cecinah Chulainn, you are sentenced to death for witchcraft. Do you deny these claims against you?" From the back of the crowd Lelouch and the real C.C could see that the entire town had come to watch. A spare tear rolled down the woman's cheek and sizzled into the fire being lit at her feet.<p>

"No."

The crowd gasped, no doubt frightened by the way she was smiling maniacally. "And I'll mention this town when I'm re-united with the devil-"

"Enough!" the clergyman crossed himself, gesturing for the townspeople to throw on even more logs.

"The prince of darkness won't be pleased when he learns that you've killed on of his servants!" She hissed as the flames burrowed through her ruined, muddy shoes. "By the power of Lucifer I cast a curse upon this town! May pestilence slaughter your children-" Something heavy was brought down on her head, and in the real world C.C and Lelouch both opened his eyes. The sign on both of their foreheads cooled as they completely left her memories.

"I'm not sure what to say." From the crate where he sat C.C could see the evening's last shadows bisecting his face.

"How about something like." She put on a fake husky voice. "And you've accused me of being overly dramatic, C2. My turn."

"I guess I promised." He leaned forward, letting her touch the equally luminous sign on his forehead.

_...Shirley!..._

_...who did this..._

_...that's not..._

Tendrils of subconsciousness covered her vision, his thoughts merging into hers and bringing none other than Shirley Fenette with them. The obviously fatal wound in her chest was pumping out more of her life each second. "Lulu...we'll just keep... falling in love..." crimson desperation glowed in her eyes, slowly flickering out alongside the innocent green. Her blood spread slowly across the polished floor, and though C.C knew this was just a memory she had the urge to rush to the dying girl's side and hold the hand that limply clutched at the air. Lelouch dully watched himself congratulate Rolo as soon as the younger boy appeared, and the memory's edges converged to another, torrential rain broken only by a single umbrella. His former self's arms wrapped around the rain-soaked fabric of Shirley's uniform_ (Just stop it)_ both of their lips slick with_ (shut up!)_ her tears an the dirty taste of rain _(what I've done to you is...)_ the streetlight searing his _(how can you stand being held by me)_ eyes and hopefully they'd be blinded, later, alone and sorry as the swells chill him to the bone and the blood of others _(so I can't see it on my hands)_ is up his neck, drowning...

The abruptly broken connection brings them with a jarring slam back to the real world. Something throbs behind C.C's eyes, the knifeblade of Lelouch's thoughts finally gone from her head, and she presses slightly sweaty palms into her eyes until little lights pop on front of them. "So that's why you acted all rapey when you came back and tackled me."

Lelouch became engrossed by a spare nail that was lying on the floor and flatly answered. "You wouldn't understand someone like Shirley."

The cool winter sunlight completely leaves the room until it it's hard for both of them to see, and C.C feels her eyes weigh down even though she's sitting up._ But I have just been sitting here, staring at a wall for I don't know how long..._ She's the first to speak. "I'm not tired yet..what are we going to do?"

"Dunno."

"As much as I like to collect dust..."

"We could go outside...bring a coat, though."

She followed him out the door after grabbing the lumpy mess of yarn that was her first attempt at a baby blanket. "And then what? We'll passionately take a roll in the hay under the stars? How romantic!"

Lelouch had definitely caught the extreme degree of sarcasm. "Oh, grow up. I was thinking of going to see Tobasco." The skittish quarter horse had sort of been a housewarming gift, and the short walk to the stable passed where Lelouch was thinking of having a garden planted. The frozen patch of soil didn't look like much, but he could easily imagine using it as a source of food. Following Lelouch down the path C.C stopped at the dark-brown square, shrugging off Lelouch's arm that was around her shoulders. Looking out at the long tunnel of orange trees that stretched before her she was awed by how the frosty leaves shone with the moon's serene glow; an alien terrain coated with washed-out grass whose every blade stood out in fine detail, amd single black dot crossing the opalescent white hole punched in the sky.

_Is that what I think it is...?_

Lelouch interrupted her thoughts. "It can't be good for us to have no human interaction except for each other, and...I'm going to spend as long as this existence lasts with you, that's a given. But maybe in a few decades.. there are a lot of small towns where someone could disappear."

"That's okay, playing house with you isn't so lonely." she points to the fingernail-sized speck. "Guess what that is."

It only takes him a second to recognize the outline. "They released the Damocles? I thought..my body was supposed to be on it."

It hovered in it's own placid orbit thousands of miles away, taking one last glance at the Earth before burning up in the sun; a tiny fly scuttling across the giant plate of the moon. C.C sank to the ground and lay out her coltish legs like a attentive stargazer. When she gestured for Lelouch to sit he tugged on the single braid she always wore. "Moonlight strolls with the Emperor? Know your place."

"I guess they've moved on."

"Wha...who?"

"Everyone. When I kidnapped you from the funeral...the had to wonder where you went. So now they've probably accepted that Lelouch vi Brittania is nonexistent, rotted to pieces out in a swamp somewhere."

"What a gruesome thought." he waited for her to say more but C.C was preoccupied, toying with the scenario of if Lelouch was actually gone. _I'm glad Lucca will have a father. Mine...I don't know who...and the only thing Lelouch had known of his was that he needed to be killed... _with a sigh she inadvertently took Lelouch's advice, and settled into peaceful dreams of pepperoni.

* * *

><p>I listened to my favorite opening theme, World End, too many times and '<em>Everything is briiiiiiight' <em>hardwired me to write happy things:D

Reveiwer of the Week: Lonely Child

Young C2 w/ raven hair and blue eyes...adorable!

Reviewer of the Week: The Strike Fury

*is having bad day is having bad day is having bad day* (reads review) My faith in humanity...has been restored!

_Accusation_


	21. Astonish

The poor man who is rich in love has more wealth than any corporation or  
>member of royalty.<p>

-Salaeren

* * *

><p>Chapter 21-Astonish<p>

Lelouch

Lelouch knitted his fingers with the frail, bony ones of the little old woman tucked under the sheets. Her golden eyes were cloudy with age and her skin hung in tiny folds of crepe paper, shriveled lips only opening to say one word. "Mommy." she weakly kneaded the blanket with liver-spotted heels.

C.C rushed through the bedroom door and kneeled by the woman's side. "What is it, Lucca? I'm glad you're feeling well enough to talk, but you shouldn't strain yourself." Taking a damp cloth Lelouch sat beside her and coated his daughter's face with a thin layer of moisture.

"Open your present now." he said, taking a beribboned package from behind his back. "You only turn ninety-four once."

* * *

><p>He kept his eyelids closed, wanting C.C to think he was still asleep. He could hear teeth chattering and felt her silently shiver in the cold of their room as he tried to make sense of the dream; a slight variation of many similar ones he'd had. <em>At least I don't have the Emperor ones anymore.<em>

In the fuzzy state of being not quite awake he eventually found the origin of these dreams; ones of his daughter's extreme age, drowning, choking, and for some reason being eaten by enormous Cheese-kuns. He figured that, after hours of painstaking analysis that the basic laws of biology still applied to him and C.C, and despite them both having the uncanny ability to heal and not age those special rules of immortality would not apply to any child of theirs._ A time is going to come when one of us has to choose who gives away their Code..it's going to be me of course. Or would I want to curse my son or daughter with having their father's sacrifice hanging over their head? I suppose I'm undeserving of this existence anyways...it would be easier for someone pure to enjoy it._

These almost unbearable thoughts were making him feel sick. He sneaked a glance at C.C from a sliver of vision under his eyelids, glad she was facing away and slightly guilty about how he was allowed to sleep beside someone so perfect. It wasn't until she suddenly broke into uneven sobs did he disturb that moment of introspective gratitude.

"C2...what's wrong?" he sat up and she met his eyes; the resplendent depths completely dry.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted you to stop pretending to be asleep...because I know you're awake when you stop making funny noises." Lelouch let himself collapse back into the warm patch he'd gotten form lying there so long. He closed his eyes against what he knew would be an infuriatingly smug expression. "What kid of interesting things do you dream of, your majesty?"

Dozing off again he brushed off this question and startled as he felt C.C's weight on him, and he opened his eyes to see golden ones inches away from his. Acutely aware of her belly smushing his breath Lelouch pushed her off. "Don't climb on top of people when you're so..so..."

"So what?"

"So _pregnant_."

Her tight shirt slid up as if to accentuate his point. Looking slightly hurt C.C pulled it back down. "I thought I could ask you for anything, but you won't even give me your body heat." She smiled playfully. "My soul...my very soul is cold." She pulled the blankets out of his grasp and buried her head under the pillow.

Still shivering in his two layers of clothes Lelouch fought her for the blankets. "Witches don't have a soul." His knees grazed the floor through their thin bedroll, and for a very short moment he wished he still had that wonderful bed back at Pendragon. He considered sharing his theory with C.C but smothered the urge.

"Hey..I remembered." C.C pushed the pillow off of her face. "Tobasco needs to be fed. Go feed him."

"But then your soul will freeze!"

"Well according to you I don't have one. Now go." She swatted his arm. "If you're scared of getting kicked again I'll come and hold your hand."

Lelouch unconsciously flexed the arm in question as he remembered Tobasco's crushing hooves. "I won't let you get near that borderline demonic beast in the state you're in. At least when my arm was broken it could heal, but I don't know if the baby..." He trailed off as the dream came back full force.

She seemed to not fully understand his implications, or was ignoring them. "..I'll make my own breakfast, so then I can have the cheeseburger I've always wanted."

After he journeyed through the sparsely furnished house and opened the drafty front door, stepping outside Lelouch felt his feet plunge into cold powder and was blinded by the sun reflecting off of everything. The winter's first snow had silently crept upon them in the night's darkest hours, and billows of the stuff were stacked in every corner and crevice. He stifled an unexpected pang of sadness and hailed for C.C, determined not to think of those memories now.

"Hey lazybones! It snowed last night."

When C.C came to the door she was wearing a blanket like a shawl and looked absolutely miserable. "Great, now you can make snowmen to your heart's content...while I stay inside."

As she turned to silence a screaming kettle Lelouch caught her arm. "No fun."

"What?"

He put on the heaviest coat that he could find. "You're no fun."

"Tabasco needs to be looked after, so stop procrastinating and go feed the damn horse!"

"Awfully passionate about this, are we now?" For some reason, her resistance was amusing.

"Just go."

Not wanting to storm off in a huff and actually glad for some separation he bit back an irritable 'Fine!' and crunched his way across the unblemished expanse of white; the front door slamming behind him and a mini-avalanche occurring. Looking to the sky he saw the tell-tale leaden clumps of deep gray clouds that promised another dump of snow soon. _Great. Just great_. He jogged towards the relative warmth of Tabasco's stable and sorely regretted not bringing a scarf or something. The horse snorted angrily at his arrival and Lelouch kept a safe distance from any of the animal's legs by scooting around the edges of his stall. After replacing the hay and water Lelouch stopped to pet his oily flank as he ate, the idle task letting his mind wander.

_I wonder how Nunnally is doing these days..._ He saved any scrap of newspaper he could get about her, and was determined not to forget about his little sister even if he was going to be a father soon. _Me. A father. Whenever those words apply to me or C2 brings it up I'm not sure whether to apologize or start beaming. I wonder how we're going to do this, how our child can be happy and thrive even though he or she was completely unintended. And that brings up the matter of telling Jeremiah and Anya, when are we going to do that? Will they still let us mooch off of them when we've basically unraveled the plan they gave up everything for? _

An agitated snort from Tobasco interrupted his internal soliloquizing and gave him enough time to avoid the dangerously close kick that would have broken at least a few ribs. Determined to stay in one piece Lelouch inched back around the stall's perimeter and escaped through the door, locking it behind him and giving a sigh of relief. Aware of the draftiness and poor conditions the horse was forced to live in he figured this was the cause for such aggressive behavior. _Maybe I could ask Jeremiah-_

Something icy and wet hit the side of his head. Searching for the assailant (but almost sure who it was) Lelouch spun around and saw the guilty party.

"You should watch where you're going." C.C called from the hilltop, squishing another lump of snow with her hands. "Never know when a soulless witch is going to attack."

_She's not even wearing a coat...what an idiot. And since when has she been able to throw so far? _"At my head? Really?" Irked by her carelessness and the snow melting all over his face Lelouch scooped up a fistful of snow, but upon throwing it failed to hit his target.

"Nice try."

He attempted to dodge her second throw but felt it burst on his back in a shower of crystals. Making a quick decision he took advantage of the slope between them and took off away from her. "See if you can hit a moving target, witch!" Rapidly punching footprints into the snow he headed to the nearest refuge; the orange trees. A brief glance over his shoulder showed C.C to be scramblng down the hill as fast as the snow would let her.

The frigid air and exertion quickly had him panting and shortly after reaching the closest tree C.C caught him. Grabbing the lowest brach she let her palms melt handprints into the frosty bark, and taking one of Lelouch's made him do the same.

His breath fully regained Lelouch inspected the prints. "If you think about it...by this time next year we'll have our own little girl."

"But it's still not verified..." Some of the snowflakes that were beginning to fall alighted on C.C's eyelashes; her hair drifting lazily in the wind as it picked up.

Overheated from his gargantuan feat of physical prowess Lelouch handed C.C his coat. "A mother knows. Especially a good one like you." Her skin was a worrying shade of white and he offhandedly wondered what on Earth she had been thinking. "As for me...I think I can manage telling Lucca bedtime stories and making her believe in stupid things like Santa Claus, but when you look at the love and kindness in my family..."

C.C hopped from one foot to another and rubbed her hands together. "Perfection isn't what makes a good parent. I think it's love and all of that fuzzy stuff... I.." She pointedly looked away. "Is Tobasco taken care of?"

Lelouch waited a few seconds for her to finish. "Weren't you going to say that you love me?"

"I would prefer you to say it to me, because I know how embarrassed you get." With a defensive shrug she started to make the trek back to their house but stopped at his reply.

"I'm not ashamed of saying-"

The breeze picked up to a howl and almost snatched away her next words."Then do it. I'll give extra points if you make a sexy face and pronounce 'love' like 'wuv'." Plodding slowly up the hill; hair whipping around her face Lelouch watched the witch almost vanish as the visibility decreased. He didn't mind the cold and figured boots would keep his toes safe for all the time he needed.

"Wuv..." He muttered, and seeing her disappear into the icy soup of fog and blustering wind Lelouch cupped his hands to his mouth, shouting over the shrieking din that nature had decided to scour the Earth with. "Cecinah! I love you!" Through a gap in what could be the rage of Zephyr the Lelouch saw her laugh while motioning an exaggerated thumbs down; quickly hidden again by a curtain of white.

* * *

><p>Reviewer of the Week: Sciatha, Sciatha and Sciatha.<p> 


	22. Clemency

Chapter 22- Clemency

Nunnally

Musty air stroked the baby-pink skin of her shoulder and ruffled the lace border on her sleeves. She had never made an attempt to hide the almost-healed burns even though they always attracted sympathetic looks. _"You've always been a very beautiful young woman, and those awful scars will eventually go away." _Cornelia has assured her. _My appearance won't matter. No one will ever take me seriously anyways. Even if I am able to pull everything off...they'll never see anything besides a tragic little girl. _To them all, her grief was like a snow globe; it would eventually settle but the smallest thing could stir it up again. The bustling fortress was full to the seams with occupants, from servants to soldiers, and when peace was what she craved Nunnaly would escape to the basement as she was doing now._ It's not that strange of me...I think it's okay that I want to be alone. _Everyone knew of her solitary wanderings and none had discouraged them.

"Your Highness."

Nunnally was startled out of her reverie and looked around the cluttered room for the speaker. Once a study of some kind, this little alcove had been abandoned and was full of dusty old books that ranged on subjects from botany to torture techniques.

"Who's there?" Nunnally saw him by the dim overhead lights before finishing her question, and couldn't stifle her sigh. It was Jaxon Lafavre, one of the suitors that had been introduced to her earlier this winter. _Cornelia probably asked him to come find me._

"It's-"

"Jaxon. Please, just call me Nunnally. All of these stuffy titles make me feel old." She moved her wheelchair back from the desk where she had been positioned to a relatively clear table.

"May I join you as you...study?" he inquired from the doorway.

"Sure."

Stepping over cobwebbed stacks of tomes Jaxon dragged a chair from the shadows and placed it disconcertingly near to her. He wasn't ugly, with slate eyes that were already smile-crinkled and a short crop of indigo hair but Nunnally didn't find him attractive at all. The swirls of gold piping that criss-crossed his jacket and the heavy diamond earring blatantly displayed his wealth and noble status; another turnoff. At least free of the arrogant demeanor he had at their first meeting he ogled her burns for a minute then awkwardly wrung his hands, knowing she had seen him. "So."

This time having the urge to yawn Nunnally glumly fidgeted in her wheelchair. "So."

"Uh...how is Cornelia and Gilford doing?" Jaxon sat down and she could immediately smell the slight bitterness of coffee, which he'd probably had for breakfast.

"Don't you mean 'are'? How 'are' they doing?"

Recoiling slightly Jaxon looked over his shoulder at the gloomy suit of armor that was choked with grime. "Whatever."

Guilty for snapping at him Nunnally gave him an actual answer. "They're alright. But the fire and everything has understandably made them busy."

He smirked. "They should get married... Prime Minister Ohgi seems happy and he's already got a family." Nunnally didn't bring up how that wasn't really his job yet and the preposed system hadn't moved past planning stages._ The fire is what caused those plans to stagnate, I'm sure...but it will be possible once we move out of this cursed place._

Seeing the opportunity for a conversation beyond politics and rumors Nunnally picked up the ball. "They've got their hands full with Hiroko...oh, and I got to see him shortly after he was born..." she added a bit lamely. "He's adorable."

"Only a few babies are like that...most are just annoying." He said, and after a moment's thought made the typical association with babies that anyone who can read has made over the last few months. "I know the horse has been beaten to death, but what happened to that C.C girl? I wonder what Lelouch was thinking when he picked her to be his groupie... she'll probably be found in a gutter." He gave a short bray of laughter but stopped when he saw Nunnally's furious scowl.

"That's not funny. Don't even mention such deplorable things when I'm around." The words came out weakly, but they meant something coming from the future Empress. When she felt tears stinging her eyes they were accompanied by a dark shadow of shame. _Don't cry don't cry don't start blubbering all over yourself..._

"Jeez, I'm sorry." Jaxon saw the tears forming in her eyes, and as one made a trail down her face he moved to endearingly wipe it away.

"Stop!"

"I-I didn't mean-"

Nunnally sobbed thickly and wheeled backwards, crashing into a stack of old books which tumbled in a dusty heap. The deep breathing technique she had been taught to calm herself was quickly proved to be useless and she let forth the long-suppressed rant that threatened to make her explode. "No one has any respect for my brother's memory! You, Cornelia and everyone else ...you call yourselves good people but you're just so...so nasty. And only focus on the bad things." The globe had been shaken and now she was feeling the full force of a blizzard.

"I didn't mean anything personal! Stop crying, it's alright." his voice cracked with remorse but she could see the insincerity in his eyes. Nunnally continued to cry rather pathetically while he watched her, not knowing what to do._ Of course, how can people treat me like a capable ruler while I continue to make a fool of myself like this. I'm such a useless, simpering idiot that will never manage to do any good. And Jaxon probably thinks I'm crazy. Knows I'm crazy. _

She rested her now tearstained face on her knees and spoke into the thick blue fabric that pulled tightly around her waist. _Why am I wearing this abominable dress if it doesn't even fit me? _"I'm feeling...quite tired." Nunnally could easily imagine his alarmed expression at this feigned collapse, and heard him quickly get up from his chair as if it had burned him.

"Do you need a doctor? Saiyoko? Cor-"

"Not Cornelia." She felt a hand hesitantly comb through her newly short hair and sat bolt upright. "You're so creepy! I hardly even know you and...and try anything like that again and I'll have you arrested!"

The grim little smile on Jaxon's face was a stark contrast to the faux concern that had been there a minute ago. "Huh. Another random freakout. I can see how you'd be sad and stuff, but your precious brother was a psychopath... a tyrannical, murderous psychopath who killed lots of people. One out of the millions he killed...was _my _brother. " He fished a pager out of his pocket and morosely called for a nurse, and as an afterthought kicked a faded globe of the Earth sitting nearby. "My father wanted me to get to know you. And you actually seemed like a nice girl the first time we met. I mean you're cute, but..."

After Nunnally settled back into her pitiful hunch she soon heard footsteps and an unfamiliar woman's voice behind her, assuming it was one of the lowly palace nurses. "Empress Nunnally? I was called by Master Lafavre..." Unknown to Nunnally she looked back and forth at the two teenagers, and after adjusting her ill-fitting skirt curtsied and wheeled the Empress away.

_Maybe she'll let me have some sleeping pills and I can take a nap. That would be so nice right now..._

Grabbing the handles of Nunnally's wheelchair she pushed her out of the room and down the poorly lit hall, Jaxon grabbing one of the books on torture as soon as they left. Nunnally casually asked for her name and if she was new.

"My name... my name is Saiyoko. I've worked here awhile." After a moment's hesitation the last part was said too fast. Nunnally hadn't seen her appearance and didn't know if the woman was Japanese like her name, but assumed that all Japanese people knew origami and was a bit excited about all the new animals she would learn to make.

"Oh. I didn't know that was a common name. Have you met the other one?"

The nurse gave a shaky chuckle. "You must be mistaken. Only one Saiyoko works here...me."

"But you're not-" Nunnally was beginning to look back when a sweet-smelling rag was suddenly clamped over her mouth. Taken by surprise she took a startled breath; fog immediately clouding her thoughts._...I can't...let them..._She used that air to give a muffled scream and after a moment of sheer panic fiercely bit the fingers pressing the cloth to her face.

"You brat!_" s_hrieked the woman, ripping her hand away and with a rough shove she knocked the wheelchair on it's side. Landing with her elbow at an awkward angle Nunnally let the pain fuel her cry for help. She glanced over an aching shoulder to see a pink-haired Brittainian woman (who was indeed not the real Saiyoko) fumbling for something that was hidden in the folds of her skirt. The the dull crash of falling books signaled that Jaxon had heard her scream and was undoubtedly on his way to rescue the Empress. From her place on the ground Nunnally felt faint with relief as he bolted towards them, brandishing a rusty sword that appeared to be stolen from one of the suits of armor. Her head spun from the chloroform and the next few minutes were just a series of sounds; the faded floral pattern of the rug numbly transfixing in her semi-drugged state.

The earsplitting sound of a gun going off, and the thud of Jaxon sprawling the floor as he was shot squarely between the eyes.

A clatter beside her head as the gun recoiled and jumped out of the woman's hand.

Nunnally rolled to the side and began scrabbling for it, as it was just out of reach. But the woman was faster and though Nunnally landed a solid slap on her face the nurse closed her fingers around the smooth metal surface. Skipping backwards she grabbed a fistful of Nunnally's hair. "If you scream, you'll end up like him. Got it?"

"Y-y-yes." Nunnally's teeth chattered with fear and made it hard to speak coherently. _How long will it take the guards to come?_

"Pretend like nothing is wrong and I won't hurt you." _Will they come?_

The woman set her chair back upright and roughly dropped Nunnally into it. As if nothing had happened and Jaxon wasn't lying dead on the carpet Nunnally was briskly pushed down the hall where they stopped for the elevator. She choked back a whimper as the chipped doors slid open to Cornelia, who seemed relieved to see her.

Cornelia moved aside and stuck the large book she was holding under her arm; as there was hardly enough enough space for three people and a wheelchair. "Hello Nunnally...you would like this book. I know the author and he used my name for one of the characters."

"That's neat." Her obvious disinterest made the conversation fall flat, and the nurse nervously shifted from one foot to another as outdated Muzak played softly over the speakers. The mechanical whirs and crunches seemed to grind on everyone's nerves and the progress was excruciatingly slow as the stale air seemed to be suffocating them.

Addressing the nurse, Cornelia sharply commented on her uniform. "Is that how you were taught to keep your apron? Re-tie it as soon as possible, I've never seen a uniform so sloppy. And look at me when I'm talking to you." Two seconds of hurried eye-contact was all she got.

_Can Cornelia see it in my face that I'm i trouble? Aren't siblings supposed to have telepathy? CORNELIA! THIS-WOMAN-WANTS-TO-KIDNAP-_

A shrill beep interrupted her mental plea and a crackly voice sounded over the intercom.

"Attention, a suspicious person with unknown intent has been reported inside the fortress. She is medium height with light red or pink hair and may be posing as a staff member. Report all sightings immediately, and detain her if you are authorized to do so. Thank you, and stay vigilant."

When Nunnally and Cornelia thought the same thing it had nothing to do with them being siblings. Before they could act the nurse grabbed her gun from what seemed like thin air and pressed it menacingly to Nunnally's temple, glaring at Cornelia. "You move, she dies." The barrage of Nunnally's tears let loose and dripped silently down her face; for shefelt like her future had ceased to exist. _There's nothing she can do but cooperate...unless_

Noticing both of their distraction Nunnally abruptly wheeled backwards and squished the nurse's foot, causing her to yelp and giving Cornelia enough time to bring 800 pages of historical fiction down on the nurse's head. After a satisfying THUNK! she went down like a stone and collapsed against the paneled walls. Cornelia kicked away the gun and omitted restraining the criminal's hands, rushing to her sister. For the task of calming her tears was much more important.

* * *

><p><em>Discordance<em>


	23. Discordance

Chapter 23- Discordance

C.C

On the morning of December the fifth, the strange and incomprehensible contents of C.C's dream splintered into reality as she woke from a light sleep. She was slumped on Lelouch's bare chest, the heat of his body warming her completely through and his hands resting peacefully around her thick waist. _And you said you couldn't breathe when we slept like this._ She tried to resume her dream but found it impossible as the baby started its morning activity; the small twinges almost mistakable for hunger. As she thought about food she was reminded of her slightly embarrassing resolution she'd made for this day. _A cake. For the first time in my life I'm going to make a birthday cake._ As if knowing she was thinking about him Lelouch stirred slightly and C.C held her breath, wanting to keep his gift a secret.

A unexpected sort of giddiness lifted her mood and she was forced to suppress laughter. _If I feel as good as I do now then my mood will probably take a volatile swing later._ Pushing off the blanket she became increasingly aware of her nakedness in the frigid room and quickly changed into the only garnets she wore these days; high-waisted dresses that had once been curtains. They have found the itchy fabric in one of the crates, and pulling it over her head and briefly checking a the spit-polished mirror she began to suspect that Lelouch had sewed them to look so bad on purpose. _Maybe it was because I called him a glamour king. That's probably why._

Sneaking to the kitchen she set the kettle to boil and once it was done mixed the water with cocoa, milk and the last of the sugar. Her feet were red from the chilly floor and the kettle's subtle heat did nothing, so she tried to do things as quickly as possible. The tattered cookbook she took from a cracked shelf was almost indecipherable and extremely faded from age, having been found in another crate with other random books. _Two eggs, cup and a half of flour, teaspoon of salt..._ She read off the list and found those things easily enough. _Two cups of sugar... Where is it.._ She scanned the paper bags of various powders and remembered how the last of it had gone into the cocoa. Feeling a surge of annoyance with herself she made a mental note to borrow some later and went to go see if Lelouch was awake, finding him in the exact same position and still fast asleep. C.C ran back to the kitchen for the steaming mug and set it beside their bedroll, snuggling next to him. "Wake up."

Lelouch's breathing retained it's slow cadence and he stuck his face into the pillow, mumbling. "It's Saturday... no school."

This time she pinched his ear as she whispered into it. "You'll be expelled if you miss any more classes, Mr. Lamperouge."

"...Expelled?" His eyes opened and then focused on C.C's face. "...stop messing around..."

She picked up the mug of hot chocolate and shoved it in his face, almost spilling it. "For you."

"What's this?" He blindly took it in his hands and let the steam buffet his face.

"Hot chocolate...I made it myself."

"Obviously. It's not like you used powder." After one scalding sip he drank the hot chocolate heartily, leaving a thin rim around his mouth. "Why the sudden domesticity?"

C.C didn't know if he was joking or not. "Because it's your birthday." The way she said that almost made it sound like a question, an underlying tone that asked for approval.

"My birthday..." Lelouch's eyes blinked into complete focus as the words registered, and he greedily finished the hot chocolate. "Thanks for making me something."

She waved away his thanks."December fifth. Don't tell me you've forgotten the day you were born...I've heard it's quite a special occasion for mere humans."

"What's wrong if I had? I bet you can't remember yours."

"I've lived almost a thousand years, that's a good enough excuse."

Lelouch sat up and adjusted the blanket so he wouldn't get cold. "True." he said. "Oh...and if you sing me happy birthday, will you do it on one foot?"

"Hush." C.C leaned down to lick away the tiny chocolate mustache that had formed on his upper lip and felt Lelouch's fingers sift through her hair and part the sea of green strands, smoothly tilting up her head. He kissed her thirstily, like someone drinking cool water on a hot, dry day and savoring each drop. After drawing her closer the bones of his hips dug into her belly, and C.C ran her hands along his arms to the slimmest point of his wrists then lifted his hands to her breasts. In some far part of her mind they ached faintly under his gentle grasp, but a humid tongue slipped into C.C's mouth and caressed the inside of her upper lip. She felt the thrilling spread of desire engulf her whole body and presumed to let it take over.

* * *

><p>It was around mid-morning when Lelouch discovered the baking supplies she had forgotten to hide. C.C had forgotten and was calmly finishing a baby blanket when she heard him call from the kitchen. He appeared in the doorway holding the bag of flour. "What were you trying to make?"<p>

"Nothing. I was just seeing what we had."

"Then why is that raggy old cookbook we found open to a cake recipe?"

She faltered, and slightly arrested by the overly satisfied look on his face opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of a comeback. "A birthday cake for you would only have one candle." She finally murmured, and managed to occupied herself with a minuscule knot in her knitting.

"If it survived the oven, that is." Though his remark was teasing C.C caught the hint of a challenge.

"It would!"

"I don't believe that."

Rising from her chair and setting the yarn down C.C made towards the door and put on her coat. "Well then I'll borrow some sugar, make one, and prove you wrong."

Lelouch caught her hand. "Wait."

She was startled by the urgency in his voice and he continued speaking. "Tobasco. You shouldn't go near him. Besides, I don't need a cake." He laid an insistent hand on the edge of her coat. "I have an infinite number of birthdays ahead of me, so it's really not necessary."

C.C bristled. "You always bug me about not doing anything around the house, and when I finally will put on an apron..." And sensing the he was going to attempt to placate her she wrenched the door open. Eddies of snow frolicked across the ice-crusted land and despite Lelouch's protests she grabbed a light pelisse and wordlessly marched to the stable. Tobacco snorted angrily an flattened his ears against his fuzzy chestnut head, unfamiliar with this golden-eyed woman. _Lelouch thinks that I don't know of his secret attempts to train the ferocious thing... I wonder if he tried to use Geass on it. _Amused by the image of him giving orders to a horse she slung the leather saddle on Tobasco and tried her best fitting on the reins, bridle and bit._ I should braid ribbons in Tobasco's mane and present that as a gift, for him dressed as every eight-year-old girl's fantasy would be funny._

Though a brisk trot was relaxing, with a snap of the reins she goaded him into an unsteady canter. She made most of the short journey safely at that pace but it was when she neared Jeremiah's house did things go wrong. The saddle or bit must have been cinched or the saddle too tight and chafing for when the horse was supposed to go right on past those treacherous posts embedded in the ground the horse skidded to a halt, and before C.C could register this Tobasco reared back, boxing the air with his hooves and dislodging his rider. The snow-laden ground broke her fall; her jaw had rattling so hard that she tasted the flinty bitterness of chipped teeth. Breathless from the impact she remembered slipping from the leather saddle and not even having time to flail at the air for a nonexistent handhold.

._.Ugh..._

Tobasco didn't know what to make of this freedom and casually sniffed at her face as if she were a tasty clump of grass. _Is my head broken? _Pain split through it every second and its point of contact with the ground throbbed mercilessly. Her elbow broke through the icy surface as she propped herself up, not wanting to rush things. The unexpectedness had jolted her thoughts and the vise around her head tightened.

...

"C2!" Jeremiah seemed to have come from nowhere and was running towards her, his breath not making clouds of steam as any truly alive person would. The horse didn't react as it's reins were snatched by the automan and it mellowly surveyed the scene. "Are you alright? I saw you fall pretty hard." He didn't shiver even though he had no coat over his worn shirt.

She blinked away stars. "I've probably had a concussion, but you know me, I'll be fine in an hour or two." C.C said, perhaps too blandly. This observation dispelled the intrusive and spontaneous panic that had begun to form. _Of course I'm fine. _C.C took his hand and began standing up, instantly feeling dizzy and curling into a ball.

"Are you going to get up, or..."

She offered the only explanation she could think of at the moment. "The snow is comfortable."

Jeremiah scoffed. "Do you want to be carried?" When she didn't answer he continued. "Where's Lelouch?"

_How will I tell him about what happened? _"Not Lelouch!" her ribs almost seemed to crack when she spoke.

"Well you've gotta get back somehow."

"I'm walking then."

Jeremiah held Tobasco's reins securely in one had and successfully helped her up with the other. As they walked the short distance to his house he asked. "So Tobasco kicked you off?" Smoke formed a thick plume out of the small farmhouse's chimney and each window was illuminated and cheery.

"He suddenly reared backwards..." The sight of such a homey place saddened C.C for some reason and she drew her cloak tighter, hoping it would conceal the changes in her figure.

As Jeremiah led Tobasco away to the stable she let herself in through a blue-painted door and walked in on Anya sharpening knives. The country life had been good to her and the disturbing vacancy was completely gone from her eyes. Anya pushed aside a single pink lock. "C2...I feel like it's been years." The liquid _shhhhick! _of sliding steel grated on C.C's nerves but something delicious-smelling bubbled on the stove nearby. She was about to go and take a peek when the door flew open and Jeremiah stamped into the room. C.C smoothed the lines that she had unconsciously shaped on her forehead and tried to appear casual despite the enormous water stains that were forming on her clothes from now-melted snow. _I've been around many pregnant women in all my years and a little tumble never hurt them. _The bone-shaking impact with the ground pressed heavily on her mind and she despairingly categorized it as more than a 'little tumble.'

"That horse is viscous piece of work." He said. _No kidding._

C.C noticed that a hoof-shaped dent had been pounded in his mechanical arm and decided not to ask. _Not that I don't like these people but a small life could be at stake here._

Anya set down her knives. "So, how is Lelouch?"

"No different." C.C sensed their craving for small-talk and gave them an answer that would be satisfying enough. "But we have some news."

"Like what?"

"Lelouch and I are expecting." As Jeremiah's mouth flapped open with thinly concealed fury C.C continued. "To be married. This Christmas he'll propose to me. And I'm going to say yes."

With a guffaw the automan inspected Anya's work. "Lelouch was never that creative."

"Yeah...we could celebrate like typical country bumpkins." Forcing a smile C.C glanced out the windows. _He has an almost unrealistic sense of the right time to make an entrance, so if that hasn't changed it would be ...now! _Unfortunately he did not burst through the door and she was left to make her exit alone. "As good as the food smells, I better be going." She winced at her rudeness and ignored the exclamations of surprise from behind her, slipping out the door and into the sunny and sparkling day. Almost exactly as she had predicted Lelouch was a few paces away, ankle-deep in the snow.

"Are they out of sugar too?" he asked off, his good humor dissipating at her obvious air of distress. She tried to appear relaxed but the renewed pounding of her head brought tears to her eyes. "You know how you said I should see a doctor...all those months ago?"

The joy in his eyes fizzled to a violet void of something unreadable as he saw the dark water patches and instantly processed what they meant. He searched for his voice while she addressed the only way to confirm that today's incident with Tobasco was merely harmless."Right now...I think that would be a good idea."

* * *

><p><em>Perdition.<em>

Reviewer of the Week: Suzuki Uchiha

Glad you liked it!


	24. Perdition

Chapter 25- Perdition

Suzaku

He didn't know why, but Zero was was happy he'd undertaken this errand. Maybe it was how Nunnally's pink-mittened hand hadn't left his since their arrival. Or the fact that he didn't have to wear his mask once they had left the soldiers' view; for it was only the Empress-to-be who wanted to visit the late Emperor's supposed grave. Her wheelchair proved too much of a hassle in the thick snow drifts the coated the cemetery but someone had managed to scrounge up a sled for this occasion and her scant weight had been no difficulty for Suzaku to pull. Since arriving fifeteen minutes ago he was beginning to get restless under the cool evening sky.

"I wish I had something eloquent to say." Nunnally said wistfully as she broke the brooding atmosphere and absently brushed snow off her pretty ankle-length coat. She had succeeded in not crying for fear of the tears painfully freezing on her face, but they made her voice quiver all the same. "Suzaku, what do Japanese people do? I mean, when they visit deceased relatives and everything."

The Zero mask held awkwardly under one arm Suzaku surveyed the small marble monument and it's defaced surface. He noticed how it was in poorer repair than even most of the older shrines and headstones, probably from the lack of family to maintain it and of course the extreme degree to which most people still loathed its owner. "Uh.." _I should have been prepared for a question like this..._ "Well...I mean, normally you would wash the stone and then leave flowers or something. But it's too cold now." The fuzzy memories from his childhood that he called upon seemed to belong to a completely different person; a scruffy boy with a wooden sword in one hand as he showed his training to the ancestors. In another world the mid-December wind tore at his exposed face and made his eyes water. _Please no-_

But Nunnally had seen. "It's okay if you cry. If you don't want me to watch then I'll look away."

"I'm not crying!" he said, forcefully enough to make her jump. _As if I'd ever cry for Lelouch._ The thought was repulsive enough to make him cringe.

"Alright...you're not." The sled creaked under Nunnally as she adjusted herself and the brittle legs that were slightly hanging over the sled's end. She reached into her pocket and brought out a crumpled sprig of holly. Addressing the stone she held it up. "I don't think I'll be able to visit at Christmastime with all of the things going on, so...happy Christmas brother." As if she expected the marble to answer Nunnally paused her tribute.

_Even when I was little I knew this talking to a stone thing was a load of rubbish._ From his viewpoint from which seemed a million miles away he saw Nunnally break into a thin, anguished sob. _But it wouldn't be right to discourage it._ His attention snapped from his inner musings as he swooped in to comfort her. _However empty my forced condolences may be._

"Stop!" Nunnally shrank away as he started to sit beside her on the wooden sled. "If you're sitting then you can't carry me!"

"C-carry you?" Though every silver button of his cloak was fastened his teeth still chattered.

With a sniffle she waved the holly in his face. "This is for Lelouch and I can't reach the stone from here, so you're carrying me to it."

Suzaku placed the mask down with a hollow clunk and tugged back the sleeves of his long black coat. "Um, sure." _As her only supervision at the moment, if she falls and hurts herself then I'll be to blame and I also don't want her to be in any more pain than she is now._ Though he had been able to easily carry over a hundred pounds before his lung injuries the task seemed daunting, also since it involved such close contact.

After scooping her up in his muscled arms he realized that she weighed hardly anything and was all bones underneath the thick coat but he found himself wheezing slightly, and he staggered the two steps towards the gravestone. The action reminded of something long-suppressed and the biting winter wind was replaced with the heavy heat of summer; made even more lorn to the young Suzaku and his two traveling companions when they couldn't shake the stench of the dead that lay around them in heaps. The looks of terror frozen on their sallow and waxy faces were the only thing distinguishing them from a bundle of clothes or garbage, and he came to a stop after accidently stepping on a child like himself. _"Keep walking, Suzaku." _Lelouch called over his shoulder, not stopping even though he carried someone almost his size.

Just as it had on that day, a distractingly feminine on his face brought Suzaku back to reality.

"What's wrong?" Nunnally asked, not sure why he was staring blindly into the distance and letting his eyes glaze over from the force of internal revelation. _I'm the person who's carrying her now, and will be the only one who's ever able to._ _Lelouch is gone, dead, and I can't just let her flounder. _He remembered the grim triumph on his former friend's face as he arranged his own demise ._...and knowing you this is all according to plan. _He choked back a welling of pity and steadied his quivering arms. He wordlessly walked the next two steps and let her place the dot of greenery on the former Emperor's grave, gently setting her back on the sled.

"Let's go back." was all he said in response, grabbing handle and dragging her away out of fierce eagerness to avoid the quickly falling darkness and the suspicions of being manipulated that would also accompany it.

* * *

><p>The evening dragged on from the solitude of his rooms. Set apart from the normal quarters they were originally meant for visiting dignitaries and such, but had been modified for maximum secrecy. Heavy locks (on the inside, of course) prevented anyone but a servant with the right key from entering and even the cleaning staff was ordered not to be in the same room with Zero. He often longed for someone to have a casual conversation with, for Nunnally was often busy with her duties and he found himself answering his own questions from time to time or resorting to some other pathetic behavior. <em>They weren't kidding when they said that isolation can really screw a guy up. <em>The stone floor under his hands was warm after he'd finished the one-thousandth pushup of his routine but an errant draft cooled the thin film of sweat that had accumulated on his bare chest.

Deciding to visit Nunnally during her evening rest/study hour Suzaku knew he would be awfully close to causing a scandal, it being such a late hour, but that subtle thrill only sped his actions. After giving himself a sponge-bath and combing his hair into it's usual disarray he reluctantly pulled on one of the shirts that was Zero's newly ordained uniform. The legendary jumpsuit had been removed from his posession after the fire, and the last piece of news he'd received was that it was being preserved in a bullet-proof case that would one day be on public display, right beside an equally revered sword.

Glad to have something to do other than sit through strategic meetings he swallowed the pills he was told were for pain dry and slipped the heavy black mask on his head, wincing as the blisters reopened. The New Zero was really quite striking, with a black sheaf of fabric embroidered with a royal blue Black Knight crest that flowed from one shoulder to an intricate gold circlet of piping on his elbow. It was much more militaristic but somehow appropriate considering the wearer's alliance. _I wonder what Lelouch would think on seeing the bastard of his masterpiece._

Adopting a swift and purposeful gait Suzaku strode through the floodlit halls and nodded to any guard he met along the way. One of the four men permanently guarding Nunnally's apartments bid him a good evening and opened the blast-resistant door, looking curious but exerting enough self-control to keep his mouth shut. Nunnally was sitting alone on one of the quaint couches and reading as she mouthed a few of the difficult words. Having lost her sight before learning to read completely and figuring Braille would be inconvenient she had a lot of catching up to do, but was a rapid learner.

Knowing the door was shut Suzaku circumvented the usual formalities. "Have you finished the book that Cornelia recommended?"

"Yes." She set the paperback in her hand on the table and nodded to the heat vent, where a black furry lump lay on the grate. "Kallen said that the Student Council didn't want him anymore."

"Arthur?"

"He's really sweet, but wakes me up when he decides to sleep on my face."

As he tugged off the Zero mask Suzaku laughed, and was a bit unsettled with how rusty it sounded. They ended up sitting together for awhile and recounting the countless school festivals and the hijinks that ensued, and she didn't even get upset when he tentatively brought up the time Lelouch was forced to wear neko-bondage and had looked ridiculous.

Rosy from a long and meaningful conversation Nunnally issued a sudden order. "I'm cold. Get me a blanket." Suzaku wasn't sure whether he imagined the quickest bat of her lashes. "You're only a mere knight, after all."

"Sure." He snatched a purple spread from the back of a chair and tossed it to her.

"The rooms really cold, so could you please put it over me?"

He wordlessly grabbed the corners and moved to tuck them behind Nunnally's back. As his hands brushed the intricate embroidery of her gown's collar in an almost embrace she suddenly moved her face to his and pressed their lips together in a girlish, sisterly kiss. He was surprised to be enjoying the warm softness and held it for second before pulling away. Exhilaration brightened Nunnally's face but her blue eyes frosted over. "My brother's murderer."

* * *

><p>Thanks for reading so far, everyone.<p>

Reviewer of the Week: Dragonjek

Xingke, Tianzi, Lloyd, Schnitzel (he has never been Schniezel to me) and Cecile...you're right, there's a ton of people that I haven't even devoted one sentence of explanation to. Though the canon has bucket loads of characters I admit that I do shy away from doing a scene with them because of their flat-ness. All of the in-depth introspection gets tricky to do *sweatdrop*

Even if characters did know deep down about Lelouch's true intentions it would be nearly impossible to say so...  
>Person 1: The Emperor used FLEIJAs to annihilate millions of innocent people!<br>Person 2: He was filmed saying he wanted to destroy the world!  
>Person 3: I think that he committed all those atrocities for the sake of the only important thing he had, his beloved sister. Even though it hurt him to be such a monster he endured the agony and gave his life so she could have a peaceful one.<br>Person 1 & 2: !  
>Lelouch exploited people's malleability, and would certainly count on that to keep his true intentions a secret. That's when it gets fun for me to add people who believe in what most in-universe people would consider a conspiracy theory, bwahaha:)<p>

Oh yeah, I've always been miffed at the show for not giving C.C anything nice to wear as the Empress (of sorts) that matches Lelouch etc. etc., and today I finally saw the official outfit...and it's gorgeous! All hail C2!

_Relinquish_


	25. Relinquish

Absence from those we love is self from self - a deadly banishment. -William Shakespeare

* * *

><p>Chapter 25- Relinquish<p>

C.C

The first signs of human habitation appeared as a few squalid buildings that seemed to grow amongst the crispy weeds that were everywhere. Next a shanty, then clusters of them. Bundled in Anya's winter coat C.C padded warily behind her partner; collar turned-up and recognizable hair safe beneath a hat. The outskirts of Shinjuku ghetto was late to rise and so far this morning they had only seen a handful sleepy people lining up to buy food or few frostbitten children sleeping in doorways.

Lelouch kept up his determined stride, staying as close to shadows as he could. "Remember what we planned. Get in, get out. Meet at the Pizza Hut on Surama Street within twenty-four hours."

"Mhm."

Apparently that wasn't a strong enough agreement so he continued his directions as they crossed a street corner that was devoid of cars. "You'll find the closest facility for medical assistance and ask that they perform the necessary tests to see if the baby is in perfect health, and don't hesitate to use force if they-"

Having heard this numerous times already she tuned him out. _Such simplicity isn't Lelouch's style. Though I don't blame him for being a little off._ With a pang she remembered telling him about the incident with Tobasco, how the despaired widening of his eyes had been made more obvious by a thin film of tears that he'd quickly blinked away. That had been two days ago as the journey to Shinjuku by cart had taken much longer with the weather and she had no idea if they had run out of the time needed _(to save my daughter? What if- no, no use thinking like that. The accident could have been harmless for all I know. I landed on an awful lot of snow...rhymes.)_

"I can handle a plan as easy as that, Lelouch. Even if I forgot the street name I could probably sniff out the pizza..." Tearing her eyes from the snowy ground she noticed he had stopped, and looking ahead realized why. In a makeshift tent pitched at the side of the road Brittainian soldiers were distributing blankets and government-issued bread coffee. _At least they're doing something to help all of these people._ Lelouch had retreated to the deep exterior shadows of a crumbling building and she followed him to the darkest corner._ Now he thinks that he's gone far enough into the ghetto, and will leave me._ Sure enough, when they had covered the last few steps and were shielded from the road Lelouch drew his arms around her. Kissing the top of C.C's head he whispered a final warning. "Be careful."

Ignoring how chilly his hands were C.C smirked. "I won't talk to strangers."

He moved his hands to her cheeks and covered the witch's ears, shutting out the world as their lips met. She was shaken by an unexpected shiver that had nothing to do with the cold and when they broke apart, C.C had to clamp her mouth against dangerous words, the exact kind that are hard to take back once they've been spoken. _"I used to be unable to think that I would ever love someone"_...Maybe those words are impossible, and she felt heartily embarrassed that they would ever cross her mind. Lelouch's hands relieved their almost non-existent pressure on her ears and retreated to his sides, because Lelouch vi Brittainia likes to be heard. "Make sure to hide the colour of your hair lest someone harass you or discover your identity."

"Uh, sure." Released from the safeness of his embrace she banished any seemingly senseless thoughts and was returned to the cold, not able to resist and eye roll at his paranoia. Settling for a weak "Goodbye" instead of frilly love professions she dodged the soft pat he aimed at her midsection and as calmly as she could walked into a city inhabited solely by enemies.

* * *

><p>After three hours of being lost, C.C was getting tired. Her strategy of sticking to alleyways had been fruitless and they all seemed to be purposely made into a maze. <em>How hard is it for a hospital to put up a sign? Even going to a mission would do at this point. <em>Adding to her worry was the fact that she hadn't felt the baby move today, and when the yawning stretch of her current path proved to be another dead end she felt the onset of tears. _It shouldn't be this hard! And all because of a damn birthday cake... _Following the forlorn trail of her footprints back to the nearest off-branching path she spotted a huddled figure in one of the doorways. Heart twisting with hope she ignored the hunger cramps that were beginning to start and ran towards the person, who the frail daylight revealed to be a young-looking man.

She forced confidence into her voice. "Excuse me..."

He gave her a peculiar stare that prompted her to shakily continue.

"My daughter has broken her leg and I need to know where I can get a doctor-"

"Don't bother." he scoffed. "Only the stinkin' rich get a doctor. And since you're wandering 'round these parts you're obviously not."

_I must have some..._ she jammed a hand into her pocket to search for the meager sum of money that Lelouch had brought with them. On the day of their departure he had been against stealing from his ex-comrade-at-arms and has instead told him that he and C.C were going to go buy wedding rings in a nearby village, so they'd be gone for a few days. _Lelouch must have been mortified..._she relished the mental picture.

When she found only a few coins in her pocket and frustrated by the man and her dilemma she kicked the dirty snow with irritation. A stupid idea was dredged from her mind. _It's not gonna happen but at least I've gotten some information out of this. _"I don't have enough..will you give me the rest? My daughter, she's in so much pain..." Her voice broke on the last word and she watched the man's face.

He laughed, then coughed a smoker's cough into his stained mittens. "As if. But I am willing to buy if you are willing to sell..."

She caught his leer, and disgusted to the point of physical nausea she had the urge to destroy his mind with the touch of her hand but decided she better not leave a trail of bodies behind. "No!" Her shout echoed on the greasy brick walls that lined the alleyway. Eager to get away from there she started to walk away from the despicable man.

"Wait!" C.C heard the rustle of his coat as he started to follow her and waited until his heavy footfalls were at their loudest to spin her clenched fist right into his face. The punch hit home and he stumbled backwards, blood gushing from his spilt cheek. Expecting a retaliation C.C was confused to why he was the one who seemed triumphant.

"It is you! I knew it!" From the ground he pointed to her forehead, where C.C felt with a stab of dread that a single green lock of hair was poking out from her hat. "The eyes, the hair...you're Lelouch's-"

Not wanting it to be said out loud, as if everyone would find out though they were alone C.C smashed the palm of one death-carrying hand into his forehead. He hit the ground and his eyes rolled back, paralyzed as the very recesses of his soul were invaded and destroyed by the witch's power.

Faster than a frightened animal and not wanting to be caught C.C ran from the scene. After what seemed like hours the labyrinthine network of alleys grew wider until C.C could hear the traffic noises of some sort of main street. _There ought to be a hospital wherever a lot of people are, even in Shinjuku..._ Winded, she turned the last corner and found herself looking out onto what was definetely the ghetto's heart only to have her view latticed by an ugly, rusted fence. Surveying it's height she noted the formidable curls of razor wire and evil-looking spikes that stretched across the top and wondered if she could climb all ten feet of it. _Though the necessary footholds are here it's terribly high._ As she pondered this she received what she thought was a good omen, for sure enough across the street from her standpoint glowed the red cross of what looked like a private clinic. _Here goes._

The rusty chain link fence shuddered as she clawed to the top after briefly testing it, and inched one leg over the pointed top and to the other side and began to hoist herself over. From this alarming height the wind was surprisingly stronger, and being that high up her heart almost stopped when the poorly secured metal gave an ominous ripple. C.C scrambled to the other side and was about to shimmy down when a gust snatched the cap off her head, and as green strands of her hair cascaded around her shoulders the hat was caught in the icy breeze. She frantically grabbed at the airborne cap and lost her balance, making a blind grab for the fence as she was obstinate not to fall.

The force brought her arm raking through the razor coils and even worse, across the pointed top. The metal shredded her sleeves and seemed to stab all the way through her arm, and releasing a loud hiss of pain C.C steadied herself and needing the hat thought in those few seconds about trying to catch it with the other hand, but the injured one wouldn't hold on to the fence as she wanted it to. Inching down with one good arm she ignored the dark red that was already spreading across the destroyed sleeve.. Reaching the ground on the street-side of the fence C.C pulled the shreds of coat away from the horrific wound that actually steamed in the open air; wallpaper-like tatters of skin flapping gruesomely at her touch. Feeling slightly faint C.C clutched the still bleeding wound and scampered across the sidewalk as she cursed the trail of scarlet drops behind her. _Now I** really** need to find help._ She tucked her hair down the back of her coat and made it a few steps before realizing this was probably a good thing. _A cut this bad would be a more than decent excuse to see a doctor...I just need to find one who will see me for almost no money._

She wanted to run to the clinic but managed a casual-enough speed walk, or as casual as you can act with a mutilated arm. _Only the guilty run._ The snow coating the streets was already well-trodden and everything within sight seemed to be some variant of grey, including the low building that bore the red cross and a sign stating in Japanese 'Dr. Hatori Shumi, M.D.' Pushing through what she thought to be the emergency door she entered the dingy waiting room and sat nervously in one of the hard plastic chairs. Though the bleeding was already slowing her clothes were still bloodstained and she looked disheveled enough. The room was completely empty save for a scowling receptionist and few other people, by the looks of them all wealthy Brittainians, who listlessly cradled emaciated kids. But the receptionist ignored them and called C.C to her chipped desk.

"Here for that?" she jerked her head towards the gashes on C.C's arm. When she nodded the receptionist continued. "Do you have money?"

"A little, but-"

"Dr. Shumi stopped giving out charity months ago. We can't help you."

"Please, I cut myself on something rusty and just look at all the blood!" The desperation in her voice wasn't at all fake and she frantically looked to other occupants of the room for support, but no one said anything.

"I doubt that, you probably tried to kill yourself, did you dear? We get that quite a lot in this district... just try harder next time and you won't have to make a doctor go through the trouble of fixing you up. Now leave."

Shocked and angered by her extreme cruelty C.C dashed out the door. _If you're not going to let me through then I'll force my way in! _She walked around the back and searched for a delivery door, positive that she could smash it open with a brick or something and saw a graffitied door marked 'Staff Only' emerge from the wall of painted profanity and open to a lab coat-clad man who was carrying an empty pizza box. He didn't notice C.C and the witch thought she had found the perfect opportunity to snag a handy set of keys, and besides her mouth watered when she saw a single slice of pepperoni-laden heaven peeping through the cardboard. _And the stupid man is taking it to the dumpsters!_

"Can I have your pizza?" C.C burst out, unable to control herself at the smell of it. Walking up to him C.C read the gilded tag that was attached to his lab coat. "Are you Dr. Shumi?"

"Depends on who's asking." Dr. Shumi was a Japanese man with the light hair of a Brittainian, and C.C wondered if he was of mixed parentage. His face was strangely scarred for a doctor but underneath that he looked young as only a few faint wrinkles traced around his eyes.

"Can I have it?" she asked again, slightly ashamed to be begging.

The doctor glanced at C.C's bloody arm. "After I look at that."

"I haven't any money-"

"It's my lunch break, and I'm not too keen on eating right after my last patient was for malnutrition. Come with me."

Relieved, C.C followed the man down a light yet narrow hallway that was painted a sickly green and went into the room he unlocked. As Dr. Shumi closed the door behind them C.C tried not to show her nervousness at this confinement.

Dr. Shumi rifled through a drawer for bandages and C.C sat awkwardly on the paper-covered table, this being her first time formally seeing a doctor in more than half a millennium. _If it was back in my day he would have pulled out leeches and bled me._

Finding what he needed the doctor washed the blood from her cut, which made it seem less serious but more awful. The raw, pink gashes were already forming liver-ish red scabs and he smeared them with disinfectant and unsheathed a needle._ I don't know if I should mention the rust... It won't hurt me and most likely not the baby. How will I get around to mentioning Lucca?_ "This is for pain." he said, and a swift prick later C.C's arm went numb. The uniform stitches closed the ragged edges of skin and the doctor covered them with fresh gauze. C.C's eyes flicked to the pizza.

He handed her the doughy lump and returned to rifling through the drawer. "You can eat while I talk." C.C began scarfing it down.

"When you're finished with the pizza, you'll tell me the real reason for your visit." A glob of cheese caught in C.C's throat and she coughed violently. "That cut is days old by the look of it, you're unmarried, poorly dressed, and with my trained eye I'd estimate you are well into your second trimester."

_Can I trust him?_ A cold trickle of panic trickled down C.C's spine as she opened her mouth to speak._ Well I can always knock him out if things go wrong_. "Yes...I was looking for help after having an accident." she confessed. "I visited my nephew's farm, and was riding his mare when it kicked me off."

"When was this?"

"Two days ago."

"How hard did you fall?"

"Hard enough to hurt."

His face turned grim. "You've had abdominal pain? Possibly bleeding?"

"Neither, just wanted to be safe."

"Huh." His medical training was extensive and he knew what he was talking about. "As far along as you are I'd say that you're fine...plenty of bones to keep baby safe. Do you mind if I take an ultrasound to be sure? It'll be free, but my lunch break is almost over so that's all I'll have time to do."

She was stunned by his generosity and her heart leapt with excitement yet pounded with anxiety. "T-thank y- I mean, yes." _Now I can see that it's a girl! It's foolish to wish that Lelouch were here so he could see...I vow to bring the picture home so he can_.

As he opened a locked closet and dug around for what seemed like an eternity Dr. Shumi rolled the slightly dusty machine beside the examination table. As C.C was peeling up her shirt who she assumed to be a nurse popped her head in and called for the doctor.

"Can't you see I'm with a patient?" he snapped. "And an important one, at that. Make Mrs. Ozaki see Rika, I can't do her physical right now." He dripped gel onto C.C's snowy skin and gasped but stayed silent as the doctor fiddled around with the machine and eventually touched the transducer to her belly. After zooming in on the nonsensical blur he pointed to the vaguely human-shaped outline that appeared on the screen.

"That blobbish thing there is the head." he pointed to a section of the fuzzy picture.

Rather dissapointed and eager to get the first glimpse of her child C.C couldn't help sounding whiny. "I can't see anything."

"Sorry about that, this machine is old." He adopted a look of firm concentration and studied the image closely, the lines carved into his forehead smoothing. "Heart rate looks normal, no visible abnormalities...do you know the baby's gender? You can tell what it is just by this image."

C.C took a deep breath. "No..." She thought of what Lelouch had said and smiled serenely, absolutely sure that her perfect family would come true._ A girl can't inherit the throne...in a few years we'll have our own baby girl..._ "But It's very important to the father."

Dr. Shumi mildy wrung his hands."I should think so."

"What do you mean?"

As the doctor spoke his eyes suddenly flashed a peculiar red. "It's _him_, right? Abolisher of numbers, hero to the people..." he looked like someone who was in church and praising the patron deity. "The late ninety-ninth Emperor, Lelouch vi Brittainia."

_IT'S NOT LIKE GREEN HAIR IS THAT UNCOMMON! _She thought with exasperation as she made the snap decision to deny it. _I need to see if that baby is my Lucca, then I'll take care of this guy and grab a better disguise._ Keeping her expression placid and forcing a stiff laugh she acted as if he were joking. "Oh please."

He seemed insulted. "Don't deny it! I had the honor of serving His Majesty as a soldier for justice, and have seen you with him several times." He sank to a bow as tears dripped down his face, bringing to a close the devastating accolade of his former master. "If only His Majesty were alive today! Then I could have given him the wonderful news that his unborn child is a son, just as he wanted."

* * *

><p><em>Sepulchral<em>

Ramblings:

After re-watching r2 episodes 20-25 (sob) and seeing all of Lelouch's epic speeches that he gives in a !YELLING VOICE! I realized that if the situation demands it from now on I'm going to have to write them. I wish there was more canon to analyze the heck out of, just how complicated and deep the discussions are that come out of the original about characterization, motives, morality...the list goes on and on. Isn't it incredible how...expressive... a recording of somone's voice paired with a drawing can be?

Reviewer of the Week: Erythrina Cristagalli

Shirley as a Black Knight...genius!


	26. Sepulchral

Chapter 26-Sepulchral

Nunnally

"Do I disgust you?" Nunnally asked, genuinely expecting Suzaku to say yes. He lightly touched the circular scars on her useless legs that had destroyed her chance of ever walking again but then bowed his head and silently resumed tying up the laces of her pointed shoes. After spending most of her life in darkness she had not been used to seeing them there and often felt uncomfortable about what Suzaku, or anyone thought of them. "Do I?" She asked again, shifting her weight in the straight-backed chair which she sat in whenever shoes were being put on. Waiting for an answer she heard nothing but a faint growl from her stomach. _He just feels bad for me, and doesn't know what to say and I've just been imagining everything over last few days._

Suzaku rose to his feet with a distant, blank look on his face and to Nunnally's surprise scooped her into his arms like a small and weightless child. She gasped and felt small tremors of laughter twitching in his chest as he nuzzled her neck and kissed the subtle hollws of her collarbone, right over the scars. Assured, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked a slightly-overgrown curl of his dark brown hair. Strong and sure arms delicately kept her from falling and a faint whisper tickled her ears. "I adore you, Nunnally."

"Your cheeks are scratchy." she giggled, unable to help herself.

Placing her in the padded seat of her wheelchair Suzaku self-consciuosly began touching his face. "Where?"

A knock sounded at he door, and when Saiyoko spoke she sounded harried. "Mistress Nunnally, Princess Cornelia is asking for your presence in Sybil Meeting Hall...do you need help getting ready?"

"No, I'm alright by myself." She motioned for Suzaku to hide and after glancing around her room he settled for the wardrobe, minimizing the creaks that the heavy doors gave by climbing in painfully slowly. When he was completely gone from sight she gave the maid permission to enter.

"You need to go right away, Nunnally. It's very urgent."

"Did she tell you why...?"

"She sent a messenger to me, presumably because she was in the middle of the meeting. Would you like me to help you get there?"

"No." Defiant of her weak arms she pushed herself down the bare hallways, only encountering the occasional guard. As she passed the room they used as a throne room she noticed a particular face that was among the crowd of people who usually attended the Holy Britannian Empress' Court.

"Nina!" She called over, waving to the other girl. Nina looked nervous, even scared as she stumbled over to the future magnate. "Oh h-hi Nunnal- Your Majesty." she managed an awkward bob of her head.

"All these titles are so stuffy. I'm still just Nunnally...so, why are you here?"

Fiddling with an earring the scientist's demeanor changed to excitement. "To talk about the Euclid!" At Nunnally's blank look she clarifed. "IT's a new Knightmare model that Prince Scheizel discovered during his time in Iceland ...he bargained for the design and is presenting it to Princess Cornelia. Of course, we've already made one but..."

_Scheizel's visiting! _She had mixed feelings about her older brother but hadn't seen him in ages, so was ready to forgive.

"So that's why Cornelia wants to see me..." she said, more to herself. "Uh...sorry I couldn't talk to you for that long Nina, I have to go."

"Right."

Shrugging off the awkwardness of their encounter she traveled the last few hallways and approached the room where they were supposed to be having their meeting, able to hear the farmiliar voice of her older brother through the open door. "-during my banishment.

Sharp with scorn Cornelia contradicted her brother. "Don't be ridiculous, Schneizel. It was merely my goal to have you see the effects of your actions."

"Well, I am afraid to report that they are all deceased but that couldn't be helped-"

_Who? _Nunnally felt her hands turn clammy and sorely wished she had asked her knight to accompany her. _Nonsense. This meeting is probably confidential. _Swallowing the lump in her throat she interrupted the prince by entering the room. "Who's dead?" She attempted to level her voice but it trembled all the same. When she got the first look at her brother after so many months, she almost didn't recognize him. The glorious Prince Charming waves of his golden hair had been cropped to a few inches and the cool, apathetic eyes that had once made him so handsome now made Schneizel look dead when they were paired with the poorly-healed scratches that traversed his face. He was slumped over a half eaten meal and with a jolt Nunnally realized that the two smallest fingers of his left hand were missing.

Sharply contrasting him was Cornelia; who looked as if she were about to leap across the table that was set between them and punch him in the eye so hard that he'd swallow it. As if talking about the weather Schneizel listed the names of their dead siblings. "Odysseus, Guinevere and Carine. I was generously appointed the task of discovering their whereabouts and records show them to have been in Pendragon when I destroyed it." Nunnally had been almost glad at his return but the smugness she caught at the end of his sentence made her feel an intense surge of revulsion. She hadn't know them well, but they _were _family.

She had been told that he'd been sent to the homeland under Cornelia's orders and had lived there ever since, so why did Nina say that he'd been in Iceland, of all places?

Cornelia seemed to pick up on her sister's distress and smiled as warmly as she could at the moment. "Nunnally, please join us. Your brother has returned from Reykjavík just in time for breakfast and will be returning within a few hours."

Moving herself to the table Nunnally ignored the food no matter how good it smelled. "To Iceland? You said he was living in Britannia with Kanon."

_That has to right, we'd planned a visit for Christmas._

Looking guilty her older sister drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I didn't want to cause you any more stress. You were going through a difficult time after Lelouch's death and regaining your sight, and such enormous respinsibilities were thrust upon you at the worst possible time..." she scowled at him as he struggled to eat with his one ravaged hand. "Beleive me, I'd rather have him quielty retreat to Gemini Villa in pursuit of his studies as we all got along without his merciless rulings-"

"What are you saying?"

This time it was Schniezel who answered her. "Iceland decided to try and follow Japan's example by starting a rebellion, but more about that in a minute. You've reminded me of my quest, Cornelia. Any news of Kanon's whereabouts?" The guard had been missing ever since the battle of Mt. Fuji and had vanished in the chaos of Lelouch's reign, but it wasn't like anyone besides Scheizel ever thought of him or cared. Feeling forgotten Nunnally watched her older siblings squabble like little kids.

"No, we haven't had enough people available and our resources are already stretched thin as it is... I told you that last time."

"Where are you looking?"

"At this point Schniezel, we've made him a missing person and are relying on anonymous tips that are investigated by local police. His dental records don't match any of the bodies so we can assume he's out there somewhere...we just don't have the time!" Her patience obviously stretched to the limit Cornelia seemed more angry than exasperated.

"So you spend enormous amounts of money on hunting down pregnant women instead of high-ranking officers?" though a seasoned warrior and normally calm the prince was used to getting his own way.

Cornelia scoffed. "That's different. C2 could be carrying another man's child for all we know, or the unborn Emperor that could usurp Nunnally! Have you been drinking so much vodka during your lousy rebel-squashing spree that it's difficult to understand basic logic?"

"Vodka is Russian, sister."

Nunnally slammed her fist on the table, tears springing to her eyes because it hurt more than she thought it would. "Hey! I still don't know anything about what the heck is going on and everyone is keeping secrets from me and acting like I can't take it! But guess what I'm going to be Empress so I should at least be wary of what's happening in my own empire!" The words poured out in a frustrated rush, perhaps from somewhere deep inside where they'd been locked away since the last time she'd been kept in the dark. Not finished with her rant she ended. "And the empire probably won't be mine anyways, the coronation is taking so long to happen."

"The whole story..." Scheizel spread his hands wide and stared at the two scarred lumps that used to be his fingers. Cornelia made no objection so he continued. "Your sister was understandably angry at my selfish decision to destroy Pendragon during the civil war with Lelouch, so she sent me to the homeland to see if any of our family had survived. My findings have confimred that they indeed had all perished, and I set about making arrangements to move the capital and putting their affairs in order. On the other side of the world Icelandic rebels, obviously inspired by Japan, pressured our occupying forces and attempted to assassinate Sabola Greene, the current Viceroy. But with my assistance they were stopped and punished accordingly, and Iceland is now at Correctional status...my disfigurements are from frostbite and we recovered a rather interesting new Knightmare design called the Euclid."

Cornelia pushed away her plate and signaled to the servant who had silently appeared to bring her more toast. Politely dabbing crumbs away from her mouth she spoke to Nunnally. "You do have a point, Nunnally. After all, a period of interregnum...you know what that is, right? is dangerous and a coronation would boost whatever nationalism Britannia has left...So that and severing all ties with Japan shall be our next objective."

Reminded of Suzaku, Nunnally asked in a small voice. "All ties? That sounds good but would it mean no involvement with Zero at all?"

"Yes." said Scheizel through a mouthful of food. "It'll be good for you to get away from him. You must be angry because of what he did even if it was the right thing."

"But..what about diplomatic visits?"

"That lump of a man Ohgi would make them." said Cornelia as she spread gooey marmalade on another piece of toast with a shiny silver knife.

"But I...but Zero and I..." It seemed so horribly unfair that she had to do this for the good of her empire, and she knew she had to. _But I can at least throw it out there and see how it affects their decisions, how lucky of me to be in this situation just when they're starting to take me seriously. _She took a deep breath. "I love him." It felt so nice and wonderful to hear those words pass her lips she said it again. "I'm in love with Zero."

What remained of her meal fell from Cornelia's hand and Schniezel just chuckled, and was the first to speak.

"Well, I guess that's what happens when you leave the fate of the world to teenagers." he began.

"Don't you dare pat me on the head and say 'silly little Nunnally!'" snapped his younger sister and she used a sickly falsetto to do thier impression.

"We...Cornelia and I...don't want you to be involved with Suzaku any longer." Schniezel said coolly, cutting his food with princely carefulness. "Because." He forked and chewed a new mouthful of food and drank heartily from his glass before finishing. "He is almost certainly using you. We've seen it over and over with this man, Nunnally. He's betrayed countless others **and** Lelouch's final wish for him to stay Zero just so he can become Emperor, no doubt after, excuse me, scoring an engagement to you. He must hate Lelouch and might be trying to exact some kid of revenge... and if the rumors are true he's not even interested in women, if you know what I mean." he added unecessarily. "What does it take to get some tea around here?"

Speechless that he knew Zero's real identity Nunnally only managed to cover her mouth in shock. Nearly strangled by the crushing force of disbeleif she simply squeaked out two words. "Using me?"

* * *

><p>Because of visiting relatives, January 6th is when Chapter 27 will be published. Also having just finished finals I want to be deadline-free for a little bit, and then I'll also have time to work on those other small stories that I have almost forgotten and finish <em>The Path of Blood<em>. Happy Holidays!


	27. Calamity

Chapter 27- Calamity

C.C

The scratchy blankets were tangled around her feet when C.C woke up. She had been hesitant to spend the night at the clinic, but the generous doctor had forbid her to travel in the heavy snowfall that had started during her visit. Despite the many seriously-injured patients that were under the doctor's care she was given the biggest room they had to spare, and the witch was grateful for a warm and safe place to stay.

_A boy. _

That wisp of disappointment had easily been smothered by the relief of figuring out he wasn't hurt. _Lelouch will be overjoyed...though he's not the person I'd normally apply that word to._ Letting her sleep-delayed mind wander she recounted her nightmare, which involved Mao and chainsaws. She groggily registered the firm mattress she was lying on instead of the usual bedroll and felt a wave of homesickness. _Better than morning sickness, at least._ Reminded of home the nagging guilt of standing Lelouch up came back almost tenfold as she acknowledged that he would have had to sleep on the streets. _It's not like I'm running out on him, the weather just was too dangerous. So many people saw me and I don't want to be walking around in broad daylight, either. _Hearing a knock on the door she snatched the blanket from around her ankles and threw it over the borrowed dressing gown she'd been given to wear. Her original clothes were neatly stacked on a bare table that was at the bed's foot. C.C recognized the voice as one of the nurses, who addressed her by the fake name Dr. Shumi had given her.

"Miss Champlain?" The nurse entered without asking and set down a sparse tray of wonderful food and a few suspicious-looking pills. "Not the usual breakfast we give or patients, but the doctor bought this himself...and those are your vitamins. The doctor will make his rounds over the next hour and you're on top of our priority list for some reason, so expect him soon."

C.C kept her head on the thin pillow and tried to keep herself looking relaxed. "Thank you." As the nurse left she began shoveling down the piping hot eggs that were hidden under butter-dappled toast. _I was lucky enough to be given a room of my own for the night but I wonder how Lelouch fared_. _A snowdrift is a major step down from even our house...His Princely-ness has probably never suffered so much._ She irrationally wished that the doctor had given her a Cheese-Kun; her second favorite thing to cuddle with. Just as she was beginning to feel weepy Dr. Shumi entered the comparatively room. He seemed extremely strained yet managed a weak smile. "Good morning. Because of the snowfall we're experiencing an influx of new patients...so you'll have to leave soon, I'm sorry."

Not surprised at this development C.C choked down her mouthful of food and prepared her torrent of sincerely heartfelt thanks, but the doctor continued.

"I would have liked to have more time, so I could look for various genetic problems that your son could inherit. Whenever one of the parents is a member of royalty you've got to be extra careful because of all those generations of inbreeding..." He briskly walked to the narrow cabinets lining one wall and opened a locked drawer that was stuffed with donated clothes. "I'm getting you a disguise so you won't be detected on your errand."

"Errand...?"

"To the church."

C.C finally got her throat to cooperate. "Church? What do you mean?" The energy building in her now-clenched palms tingled; a last resort but still a wonderful assurance.

The doctor tossed a dark gray cap onto her bed along with a shabby gray coat. "There's something there that you'll want to see. We...His Majesty's other soldiers and I... have saved this in case you ever resurfaced."

"Why is it so important?" she said harshly, unintentionally inflecting her growing uneasiness. "I mean, just coming here was dangerous-"

The doctor suddenly abandoned any trace of friendliness and scowled. "You have no choice in the matter. It's already been decided." Noticing the reddish cast that was lighting his eyes C.C hopped from the bed and knew with a bright flash of annoyance that there was no reasoning with someone under the influence of Geass. "I'm waiting for a call...if you don't do as I ask then the army will be contacted. It's for your own good."

_I'll pretend to go along with it and then find Lelouch. _She smiled at the thought of all the wonderful pizza that was waiting to be eaten and the doctor interpreted that as an agreement, and hastily gaving her some directions. The walk would only take five minutes, he said, and not wanting to stick around she abandoned Lelouch's coat for an even thicker one and made sure it was similar size so it would fit him too. _An apology present of sorts.. I hope he doesn't take it that way, though. I would never hear the end of it. _Taking their height difference into consideration she made sure that it fell to the mid-thigh of her pants of an unknown colour that she also picked from the drawer.

Knowing she was going to change the doctor left the room, and she hoped she would never have to see him again. The coat's hood smelling slightly of mothballs she pulled it over her hair and exited through the back door that had be left unlocked for her. Wishing she'd brought a hat or scarf she waded through the newly accumulated sea of snow which was already beginning to attract ash from the many wood fires that refugees had lit. When she passed them on the streets she kept away, but they saw the bad condition of her clothes and figured she wasn't worth the energy of robbing. In the heart of Shinjuku's underbelly it was mostly Japanese who huddled to the corner of buildings or in their makeshift homes, but C.C was surprised to see a few Britannians. Some even had fur coats.

She grudgingly followed the doctor's directions to an ornately carved stone building, obviously the church. The heavy oak doors released a warm rush of air that was explained by a few candles that burned in tarnished scones along the wall. The faded design in each stone drew her eyes to a spotless stained glass window that seemed to give off its own light; the robed man in the picture looking sad yet dignified as a creepily smiling angel floated over his head. The dusty carpet, polished pews and dilapidated prayer books were repulsive to her. _I was silly to ever believe in any of that. Now does the doctor expect me to get on my knees and renounce my sins or something? Where is this man I'm supposed to check in with so the army doesn't nab me like a common criminal?_

As if on cue a startlingly young man dressed as a priest emerged from the shadows cast by a carved column. C.C felt like an idiot when she jumped, and though his voice was soft it was was easily heard in the dead-still room. "You must be...ah...Hideki told me that you would be coming. Please, follow me." Not waiting for her he opened a door that was invisibly cut into the wall woodwork and left it ajar for her. _He acts like this is some kind of dinner party. As if I had a choice in coming here in the first place. _She copied his path and found herself standing in an expensively furnished office with a roaring fireplace, overstuffed armchairs and crammed bookshelves. She was slightly cheered to see that the man was talking on an old-fashioned phone that rested on a tacky antique desk, obviously calling the doctor. A few anxious-looking attendants stood around the corners of the room like spell casters preforming some evil curse, but they wordlessly filed out once she arrived.

He hung up the phone with a snap and walked around to the back of his desk, seconds later removing a dictionary-sized wooden box and eagerly unlocking it with a gold key he pulled from his sleeve. The priest reverently folded his hands on the box. "As much as I'd like to hear the story of your escape, there isn't much time."

As he lifted the lid C.C moved up to his desk and caught a glimpse of the object within. Sitting on a soft bed of blood-red velvet, Emperor Lelouch's crown looked exactly the same as it had when there was an emperor to wear it. The priest eagerly pushed the box in her direction. "When it happened and everyone was still in shock at Zero's appearance, I caught this after it fell off His Majesty's head..." he sniffed thickly and looked as if he were about to cry. Not knowing how to react C.C just studied the crown's gold trim and said nothing. It seemed like an arcane artifact of some former life; an existance tainted with the despair of Lelouch's end hurtling closer every minute. _An existence so unbearable for him that he could smile as it came to an end-_

Having collected himself enough the priest continued. "We want his son to have it. Please take it with you."

"Uhm, thanks." She dared not say more, the foreign sensitivity born of being pregnant threatening to make her cry. With a snap she closed the lid and put it under one arm._ Lelouch will get a good laugh at all the crazy things his drones have been up to. _Not wanting to chit-chat she kept her voice chipper and moved towards the door. "I'll be going then."As her hand closed over the carved door handle she heard a sad chuckle from behind.

"Oh, no no. We can't have you wandering about the streets...there is a bounty on your head, you know. Some filthy Eleven could harm you and we can't have that."

With a few twists she realized that the door had been locked from the outside.

The power that burned in her palms started charring the metal and she stiffly released the doorknob. She turned to see the priest skitter towards the fireplace and grab an iron poker with quaking hands. _He's the only person who could have the key on him._ Usually she would be annoyed at someone attempting to hold her captive again, but this time there was the fear of discovery and harm that increased with every second. She knew that because of her goddess-like status amongst the drones and the fact that she was pregnant that they would never harm her, but she wasn't stupid enough to take an armed man head-on and decided to be sneaky. _And why would he lock himself in here with me anyways..._

With a sigh she sat in one of the cushy armchairs. "You're right, and with someone else's care I could at least eat properly."

The priest cautioned a step in her direction and relaxed his grip on the iron rod. "Are you hungry now?"

"Yeah, the walk to this place wore me right out. And made my feet hurt."

She watched him closely as he danced over to a nearby side table and picked up a tray of ancient-looking cookies. "I have some cookies right here-" as he turned his back to pick them up she launched herself out of the chair and ripped the poker from his grasp, spinning him around in the process. He was winded by a brief whack to the ribs and keeled over in agony by the second. As he gave a strangled cry of pain she heard scuffling from outside the door.

Somebody called through the thick door. "Hold on, father!"

The priest mumbled something about broken ribs as tears poured from his eyes. "Don't...don't worry about me." He gasped. "Just a bit...longer..."

With the sudden realization of his intentions C.C considered killing the man, but that would take precious time so instead starting attacking the door in intent to break it down. The grunts of mooks from the other side proved her theory, that they were collectively standing against it as a human barricade. Realizing it was no use C.C resorted to the only option she could think of. Effectively breaking his foot in the most painful way possible she let his cries of pain be heard by the mooks. _Now to make it seem worse than it is._

"This man is inches from death." She said with the cold detachment that a practiced killer always had in movies. "Release me, and he'll be spared."

A few moments later C.C heard the click of a lock struggling to move. _The psycho act always works. _

It was only when the door finally opened did she realize that things had not gone as planned, and C.C felt the weapon slip from her hands and land with a muffled thump on the carpet. One of the men shouted "Step away from the priest!", and she numbly obeyed as soldiers swarmed the room.

* * *

><p>Reviewer of the Week: 4braxas<p>

I hope this story hasn't been too "and they walked off into the sunset holding hands and telling each other how strong their love was..." so far. But don't worry, though the whole basis of this story wasn't my want to have an 'Immortal C2 vs. Immortal Amnesiac Lelouch Melee + Detached Limbs Being Used As Weapons' the things I have planned (I've actually started planning things out now!) will make comically gruesome violence seem like a cakewalk.

Update: Has anyone else heard of Luluko...what makes it even weirder is that she was invented for the sole purpose of being in a pairing with him/her self. *shudder*

_Incendere_


	28. Incendere

Chapter 28- Incendere

Lelouch

Somewhere in the frigid shell of his corpse, the right neurons fired and Lelouch processed a distant conversation.

"Is he dead?"

"Yes, Asuka. I think he is..no pulse...frozen solid."

"Holy crap holy crap! You just touched a dead guy oh my god-"

"It's the fourth pers-... one we've found this week, I don't see why you're wigging out..."

Most of his mind was still stuck in the emptiness between life and death known only to immortals; akin to being paralyzed, blind, helpless... _This is how Nunnally must have felt, but for years on end._ He knew that he should be worrying about someone else right now, someone he couldn't put a name to. His heart gave a painful squeeze but in reality it had stopped hours ago, so therefore he was dead. In the delusions that accompany hypothermia he'd wandered far away from the Pizza Hut and settled for this nondescript corner in a last-ditch effort to stay alive. Coatless and motionless he died shortly after burrowing a half-hearted nest in the snow._ I wonder what time it is, it must be the morning if people are out looking for bodies...I need to get back to Pizza Hut._

As the rescuers dug aside the snow that had accumulated around him Lelouch was silently growing more and more annoyed with his current state. The people, who he assumed to be women from their voices, were now searching his pockets and trying to unfreeze his clenched hands in case they held money. _Once I get back to normal, how can I sneak away without causing a panic? The last thing the Britannian army needs are reports of a zombie. _He was considering acting as though he had miraculously survived when he felt an ice pick smash open his fingers. Having recovered some lung function he gave a snuffle of pain as an electric bolt of agony traveled up his arm.

"Nothing...just the stupid toy thing we saw earlier...what..blood? Why is he bleeding if he's-" The disembodied voice rose to a scream as she watched him open his eyes.

Lelouch blinked and cracked his neck. He focused on the two terrified women (who didn't believe what they were seeing) and sat up. The woman holding the ice pick was debating whether to hit Lelouch with it when he got an idea, and it was difficult for him not to laugh out loud.

He smiled. "Good morning."

He thought that the speed at which they fled would make Suzaku look like a snail.

Stiffly getting to his feet at last Lelouch smoothly removed the mini-icicles from his face. _Now to retrieve my 'stupid toy thing' and I'll be off. _The Cheese-kun plush still had its dopey grin even after such a rough night, and returned to its original sponginess after a few minutes. Though he despised the little creature by itself he was looking forward to C.C's reaction when he gave it to her. He stuffed the plush under one arm and addressed it. _You are going in the trash when Lucca is born._ In a quiet part of his mind he knew his daughter was alright. _Her mother is an immortal witch...there couldn't have been a better way for that little tumble to happen._

Settling at a lazy pace he took in the sights and smells of another day in Shinjuku ghetto. Most of the shops were deserted or closed and only one place seemed to be getting any business; a tavern of sorts. _At nine-something in the morning? Really? _From what he saw through a smoke-clouded window people had already set up a card game, and soon the money would start changing hands. He was honestly more interested in that then the 'Real Live Girls!' advertised on one poster, but when his feet twitched in that direction something held him back.

The suave, haughty man who could empty anyones wallet in a minute (Oh, looks like you'll have to write a check then Mr. Aristocrat) and still make you want to wipe that smug little smile off his face by beating him (Because this time you're gonna get lucky) seemed to have been left behind. Mr. Card Shark had been incinerated inside the Damocles along with Mr. Popular...he had to admit that the loss of these faces were a relief, but the candy-coated Mr. Big Brother he had been to Nunnally felt like an unfortunate casualty. His dear sister he would have to watch from afar, as much as the separation would hurt her. But with a sense of accomplishment and relief he easily caught on to the beginning shyness of first love that was really obvious whenever the soon-Empress ever appeared on TV with the Hero of Japan. _She's in good hands now._ _If the political nonsense is taken care of, and they're wonderful together but Suzaku pusses_ _out, then I...I'll..._ he treated himself to a short fantasy of squashing Suzaku with a Knightmare. Something caught his eye and distracted him...a red-haired girl who looked an awful lot like Shirley. Any sparks of amusement from his killing-Suzaku vision fizzled out with a hiss.

_My friends...superficial as they are...will get over me. I bet they've shaken their heads and wondered how they could befriend such an evil guy._

A few concerned glances from people walking past him removed Lelouch from his stream of thought. He had been paying no attention to his body language or walking speed and realized that he was stooped over and had slowed to a miserable shuffle.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. It was an old man, his back bent by a different kind of weight. He softly asked a question that Lelouch didn't know the answer to. "Is something wrong, son?"

"Uh..." _Quick, make up a problem that people around here are having. Not enough food, beaten by soldiers..._"Uh...I..uhm..." Trying not to look any dumber Lelouch stood a little straighter. _With the Cheese-kun I must look like an oversized toddler._ "No. But thank you."

"You're welcome...go put on a coat, will ya." The old man was soon engulfed by group of teenagers off to cause some kind of ruckus, and Lelouch briefly wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. _There is no time to_ _stand here sulking in the street. C.C could be waiting and I know from yesterday how awful it is. I've got to find out about Lucca... _a strange, heartening energy now fueled his steps and gave him the embarassingly affectionate urge to pat C.C's tummy when he saw her again. _My daughter._

From then on the walk to Pizza Hut felt like he was on a train going forward; each step seeming like something much bigger. He knew that from now on everything would be different, raising a family in the peaceful world of his own creation.

_And I have no desire to walk back along the tracks._

Once he reunited with C.C he would never have to worry. _Well that's sort of a hyperbole..._ His fretting would now be over whether Lucca was hungry or if she had trailed mud through the house after playing outside, and whether or not that he and C.C could have some time alone.

And he noticed that a surprising ache of lassitude now occupied the space that was once reserved for the anger at...well, everything. It had been a physical weight, like if ever since the first night that Charles zi Britannia had spent with a woman who was not his little wifey, or, no, the real origin was on the floor of a throne room. The bedlam that had crashed around in his already rattled mind congealed into a solid mass of hatred; a formless shape that had splintered into a knife the day he swore to obliterate Britannia. He could have left the knife, then sunk up to its hilt, to fester in his body forever. But instead he had used it in its true form, a deadly weapon.

_Just because I can set the world on fire and bring about its end doesn't mean I want to. Stretched to my limits...those days... I was already an immortal in some sense. Hurt beyond what most humans can feel, and having been thrown in with people who had never once feared for their lives. Who had never been manipulated or used by the very people that were supposed to love them unconditionally. Monsters who saw their children as tools...but Nunnally's pain far outweighed mine; a despicable sin against an innocent girl that I've forced thousands to pay for. _

_I tore off the face of Mr. Student Council and wisely removed the only thing that made me different from the machines that carried out my bidding. _

The glowing sign of Pizza Hut was soon visible and he even ran the last fifty feet. _This brief interlude between lives will end today. _Inside the restaurant it was warm, and having ignored the temperature outside his limbs burned as they regained circulation. He ordered three deluxe pizzas and even remembered to snag a bottle of hot sauce. He slid into a sticky plastic booth and nervously tapped the table with fingers that piano players dream of having, and the perky waitress who had tried to flirt with him yesterday eagerly scuttled towards him in a way that made a silver pendant bounce on her extreme cleavage.

"Ohit'syouagain." She cooed in one syllable.

Steeling himself against the innuendos she began to spew he coldly informed her that his **wife** would be arrivng soon. When the waitress left he gave into the temptation of gloating. I_ won't prove you right any longer, Suzaku. Enjoy drowning in the remorse you've accumulated. My life was accidently returned to me, but I plan on making use of this second chance._

Lelouch couldn't wait until C.C came through the door with snow-chilled lips and a little belly under her coat. He would ask how the doctor's visit went and make fun of her as she stuffed her face with pizza, maybe even having a secret reunion party in one of the bathroom stalls. With the future in mind, he believed himself to be the luckiest man in the world.

* * *

><p>Reviewer of the Week: Sacchin<p>

This chapter's ending is mean.

_Harmony_


	29. Harmony

Chapter 29- Harmony

Suzaku

One thing Suzaku liked about always having his face hidden was that nobody could tell if he were paying attention or not. As some official he didn't know the name of drawled on about guard budgets his mind was occupied with other matters.

It felt good to have something to think about, even though his thoughts conjured a sickly knot of worry in his stomach.

For the face of a nation, he was extremely inactive and discreet. Showing up only when 'he wished' was his trademark but now that Britannia was defeated there seemed to be little need for a hero. Zero was present for the dedication of that statue or this monument, and did nothing more than cut ribbons and look dignified. _(I may as well be the mascot for a sports team.)_ In between 'gigs', as he liked to call them, there were seemingly endless hours of solitude. But he learned how to pass the time.

Since he was out of school he could pursue any area of knowledge that interested him, and though he'd especially enjoyed history in the past he realized that he was now sick of stories about people killing each other. He'd lived enough of those to fill his own book. A few times Suzaku had even considered making one, maybe to be 'discovered' forty years from now as a long lost journal by the traitorous Knight of Zero, but he quickly abandoned the project. Somehow making up lies about how Lelouch liked to skin people alive got old really fast. His already good physique had never been better thanks to countless exercises and he was growing more and more disinterested in the meals delivered to his doorstep, but as his physical condition improved his mental one seemed to deteriorate. For as he stood before crowds of the Japanese citizens and absorbed the cheers and clapping the deep-seated loneliness borne from only being seen as a walking mask, not Suzaku Kururugi, enclosed him in his own little bubble.

_If Nunnally is being moved back to Britannia tomorrow I at least have to visit her. She hasn't heard my idea for a solution yet._ They hadn't yet discussed parting, and when he thought of their last meeting he blushed a little, and was again grateful of the mask. He had initially been hesitant to view her as someone attractive beyond the range of friendship because of her age, but it didn't take much effort to remember feeling the slight ridge of her hip bone through the thick padding of her skirt as his fingers reached partially to her butt and-

"Eh...Master Zero? Are you in pain?"

Suzaku fell out of his daydream with a crash to realize he was firmly gripping the arms of his chair. When he didn't respond immediately the remainder of the meetings participants looked up from their work to see why the official had stopped talking and was staring at him. A few people down the table Cornelia's thin-lipped stare of disapproval deepened as if she knew what he had been thinking about. Suzaku righted himself and brushed imaginary dust off his cape.

"I am not. Please continue." he answered a bit too formally, hoping that nobody would think he had just been groping a chair.

The boring discussion continued and he made sure to appear extra alert the whole time. The methodical tapping of his toe on the tiled floor measured out a half hour and the meeting was finally over. The room cleared except for Cornelia and a few stragglers. _Now to get her alone..move along you fat dignitaries...there's lunch waiting for you in the dining hall. _The plan he'd been formulating itched inside his brain, and seeing the last few people leave he dared call the princess' attention as she typed a few final figures into her identical laptop.

"Princess Cornelia?"

Her eyes stayed trained on the screen and she absently twirled a pen between her fingers, not answering.

"Princess Corne-"

"Close the door, Kururugi."

He did as she asked, and sitting directly across the table from the princess he took off his mask. It had been four days since someone had seen his real human face.

When Cornelia spoke she didn't bother to hide her resentment. "You've looked like you've have something to ask me from the second I walked in." she then added with unusual sarcasm. "Now then, what could it be about?"

Feeling foolish Suzaku studied his reflection in Zero's mask. He didn't know how to approach the subject though he'd played this over in his head several times and decided to not start with pleading. "When, er, Nunnally goes back to Britannia...could I, somehow, come too? The secret identity of Zero could be assumed by Kallen and Ohgi trusts her more anyways-"

Cornelia gave a cruel laugh and snapped her computer shut. "As what? The Empress' pool boy? A bodyguard?"

"Maybe the second. If there's any way...I could use a different name or-" he broke off his preposition as he realized how ridiculous it was. Suddenly the emptiness of his room seemed favorable to this hopeless situation.

Apparently attempting to re-open old wounds Cornelia touched upon something not completely relevant in her response. "Someone would recognize you in a heartbeat. And you use the military as a vehicle for your personal crusade. You're a decent fighter, but a little too...damaged. A weak one like you shouldn't have been pushed so hard from the start." She stood up from her underwhelming chair and found a more suitable backdrop for the moment, a stained glass window that in the early afternoon hours was straining the sunlight through its multicolored panels. "I can't have an unstable, self-pitying little snot making Nunnally worry herself ill. All the while she'll be hating herself for snuggling up to her brother's killer whose incompetence also led to Euphie's death." Though it was intended as mean her last statement rang with the hollowness of sorrow.

Suzaku now had to squint whenever he glanced in the princess' direction and found himself staring at the floor. Taking her bait he retaliated with an appropriately angry half-shout. "Damaged? Weak...? More like strong enough to find fault with the evil I've committed against my own birth country! You...you and Schneizel with your high-tech bombs that vaporized millions of innocents in their sleep...how you can sit in your cushy chairs and feel good about it. It's disgusting, the whole lot of you pompous bastards with your conquest and slaughter!" He felt winded by this long bottled-up statement but continued his tirade. "And by the way, Nunnally understands. I may have driven a sword through her beloved brother and enjoyed every second of it, but she still loves me." He leveled his voice, and sensing victory closed in for the kill. "She loves me enough to risk sharing her feelings with you, a bossy older sister that scares her."

"In twelve days Nunnally will be crowned Empress!" Cornelia retorted hotly, stung. "She will have almost a third of the world to rule and no doubt fledgling rebellions to stop. Her older sister is trying to have her older brother tried as a war criminal and a whole new capital city needs to be established. In other words there'll be a lot on her plate, and certainly not enough time to worry about a sulky little boy. She'll forget you, very easily."

Shirking off her hurtful assumption he knew he'd found a weak point by bringing up Nunnally's feelings, and Suzaku aimed another blow. "She'll be miserable and -"

"It shouldn't be some profound revelation that Nunnally won't be happy all time and will have to make sacrifices." Cornelia snarled. "As royalty, we do not live for our own enjoyment. We must forever be an example to the people of our dominion, to be the strongest and the bravest and the best." With a dramatic gesture that would make Lelouch proud and was seemingly hereditary in their family Cornelia li Britannia jabbed a swooping hand in his direction. "And right now it's taking the very best of my empire's spirit to stop myself from grabbing a fistful of your greasy hair and flinging you out this window. You've got a thing or two to learn about diplomacy with empires that are hundreds of times larger than a stinking island of monkeys."

_Why you- _When Suzaku tasted blood he realized that he'd been biting his lip and now the skin had broken. A part of him wanted to beat Cornelia to it and run headlong into her, carrying them both through a window and to a three-story fall. _That would save the world a lot of suffering. I wouldn't be around to mess things up and in Cornelia's case someone else would have to butcher a path across the world. _As quickly as it had filled his every limb the anger subsided and Suzaku decided to ignore the lure, and let the tension flood out of him with a single deep breath. _I almost would have spared Lelouch had I known that one of Nunnally's remaining relatives is such an imperious bitch. _

He scooped the mask from the tabletop and slid it over his head. As his gloved hand closed over the doorhandle he found the most childish, yet satisfying last words for the irate princess. "A stinking island of monkeys that...that somehow managed to beat you." And wrenching open the door he slammed it behind him.

* * *

><p><em>Ameliorate<em>


	30. Ameliorate

~**IMPERIAL GUARD OF THE HOLY BRITANNIAN EMPIRE**~

Department of Investigations

93 Ares Boulevard

Date: December 11, 2018 a.t.b

MEMORANDUM FOR 2ND PRINCESS CORNELIA li BRITANNIA

SUBJECT; INTERROGATION

Your Highness Cornelia,

As you requested, C.C was questioned by the Sgt. Natalia Bamaksu at 9:00 this morning. Restraints were limited to plastic handcuffs and because of her condition other methods were not employed. The subject was cooperative and candid, despite being severely affected by morning sickness. Regarding the child, the fetal DNA present in her blood matches with His Majesty Lelouchs, obtained through the undertaker who oversaw His Majestys preparation for burial. Questions relating to time at Pendragon Palace are below, and the following is an excerpt from the questioning.

N.B: Where are you from? What does C.C stand for?

C.C: C.C...those are the initials for Cecinah Chulainn, my name that up until now only [Emperor] Lelouch knew about. I call myself that because up until being a teenager those were the only letters I knew. Where am I from..a village...where I was an orphan who collected eggs on a farm until the age ten, then I decided to pursue my dream of opening an Italian restaurant. I lied and said I was sixteen then became a housekeeper for a wealthy man in my village, and did that for four years. Then the restaurant in town fired their assistant cook and I took the job. Things went well for awhile...and then I met Lelouch.

N.B: And when was that?

C.C: Two years ago, in the summer. He came through town saying he was on summer break from Ashford [Academy] and was unlike any man I had ever met before... aspirational, intelligent and kind. Believing he was truly like that was my biggest mistake.

N.B: At the time, he was the Eleventh Prince and twenty-seventh in line for the throne. Did he ever mention this?

C.C: A week into our relationship, actually. It had gone by so fast and he seemed so infatuated with me...I...I don't remember the situation exactly, I'm sorry. That was the time when I started having unexplained gaps in my memory... Well, he told me that I would be his Empress and that I would love the gardens at the Aries Villa where he grew up... Then the next thing I remember was hiding under his bed because he had smuggled me back to his dorm at Ashford. That's when things started to get bad.

N.B: Bad?

C.C: Yes. [tears up] I...I loved Lelouch a lot and I'm sure he loved me, but he would never come back until late and smelling like cigarettes and booze. That went on up to his ascension of the throne, when his true motive for keeping me was revealed. I'll never forget it, when we moved into the master suite at Pendragon [Imperial Palace]. I was jumping on the bed because I'd never seen one so huge and then he yelled at me to cut it out. He was standing at the bedside and I moved to get up when he slapped me across the face and pinned me down. He kissed my cheek where it was starting to bruise and whispered this very sweetly into my ear-"I will give you money and power, and all you must do is satisfy me." [her hand flutters to a baby bump that's barely obvious and she starts to cry]

N.B: Was producing an heir the main goal of his abuse?

C.C: After he tired of me, yes. The Emperor chose me because he wanted the baby to be pure Britannian, and I also was a nobody so he wouldn't have to marry me after it was born. He knew that even if we weren't married the baby would be an heir, and he didn't want to be monogamous. When I refused to have it he threatened to kill me but I escaped with my life. I was in contact with someone in his court at the time, and when Lelouch calmed down he reportedly said that he 'probably couldn't stand to have me fat and making a mess for nine months anyway.' Lelouch said I was lucky, and that he could have as many women as he wanted but had chosen only me. But that just made things harder, because I had to constantly be available to him.

N.B: For what?

C.C: [ignores question] I was basically being held hostage. Once the baby was born he agreed to let me go, and said I could have my pick of the royal family's property. But I didn't want to abandon my own child and leave him to the care of nannies and his fathers influence. I don't want...please, could you move on?

N.B: Did you want your child to become the Emperor/Empress?

C.C: Honestly..after seeing what such a position had done to Lelouch...no.

N.B: That's all we want to know. Let's see here...ah, okay. The Emperor reportedly had homosexual relations with his Knight of Zero, Suzaku Kururugi. Could you shed some light on these rumors?

C.C: They're all fake. People just thought that because they were good friends.

N.B: Did Sir Kururugis death contribute to His Majestys mental instability?

C.C: That was a major factor in it, actually. Near the end...he..was downright scary. To be close to someone of such power is one thing, but there was just an evil energy... I know you're not supposed to say things like that, but I felt bad for him. On top of the world with no one to trust...[she mutters an apology and is overcome with her illness]

COSME DIODERE

PRIVATE

Trainee

To Receive Copies: 2ND PRINCE SCHNEIZEL el BRITANNIA

* * *

><p>Chapter 30-Ameliorate<p>

C.C

Having once been a scientific specimen, C.C was used to being treated roughly. Her single handcuff clinked as she looked for a more comfortable position to sleep in and her arm ached from being chained to a hospital bedpost for so long. Other than the restraints her treatment wasn't bad and the food acceptable. She was still proud of her almost successful flight in the ghetto that she'd attempted two days ago, and was glad to see that many of her pursuers now sported black eyes from her final stand._ Lelouch, I'm so sorry that I couldn't get away in time_. She didn't want to think about the moment he realized her fate, how happy their future together had seemed and the pizza she wouldn't get to eat with him. The bare insides of her room were a rude awakening from the dream of a life she'd left behind; and to one who'd lived almost a thousand years those months with Lelouch were a small blip in her memories.

_I hate feeling old. _But she can't dig up that well-tapped reservoir of bitterness now, and buries it under more pressing matters.

_At least because I'm pregnant they'll think twice about taking me to be poked and prodded in some secret underground_ _facility. _All night she'd heard whine of distant engines and knew she was being transported, but her destination remained a mystery._ My happiness is being taken into consideration- I can assume that from all the foot massages I've been offered._ _But I am still a prisoner...just what are they planning to do to me? I'm sure my stunt after Lelouchs funeral won't be forgotten._ The plain white room contained nothing but her bed and she considered making a fuss for some entertainment but decided not to. The gentle hum associated with hospitals was the only sound that pulsed under her thoughts and C.C felt herself settle into the blurry prelude of sleep. _Lying here makes me so tired...I wish Lelouch would turn the light off already._

_After taking down five soldiers it'll be impossible to seem completely non-threatening, but I make a good simpering idiot...that would be the best way to stay under the radar_. In a different life she wouldn't have cared, but things were different now that she had someone else to worry about._ They've asked me so many questions to determine the babys health..I can't believe how much I was hounded about using drugs._

A hand grasped her arm and gave a few rough shakes. It was one of the soldiers who had overseen her over the last few days, and when he told the witch that she was requested at the Gemini Villa she recognized the name instantly. _That's where the two secret princes were born! I think knowledge of them died with Charles, who was never proud that his own children didn't survive more than a few hours. I wonder if their graves are even marked...I guess if the Imperial Family were to get their hands on my son that's the world he'll know. The cold, endless battle of killing off your family to reach the top._ As of now she didn't want to leave this hospital bed; to stay wrapped in its sterile sheets and be as far away from the slaughterhouse of a palace as possible. But the bleary-eyed soldier prodded her again and raised his voice as if she were deaf.

"Should I wear my hospital gown if I'm going to see royalty?" She asked, trying to keep irritation out of her voice.

He rolled his eyes. "I was not instructed about how you're supposed to look, only that you need to leave now or you'll get stuck in traffic." The soldier unchained her and cracked his knuckles as if he were expecting her to make a mad dash for the exit.

Swinging her bare feet on to the floor C.C flexed her tortured arm. "Very well, then." She winced at his grip as she was marched down the hallway and through various checkpoints, her free-flowing hair and loose clothes creating a rather otherworldly appearance.

_I think this is supposed to be embarrassing. _She thought as the crew caught glimpses of her and giggled. _So I shall walk with as much dignity as I can._

The arduous journey ended after a painful walk across sun-heated tarmac, where one of the town cars that were usually reserved for nobility awaited her. The driver ignored her as expected but a perky-looking woman in soldiers garb was already sitting in the back passenger seat. C.C took her place and decided to use this time to get her story straight. _I remember most of the slanderous nonsense that I made up for my interrogation, and will stand by it at all costs._

Outside on the multiple networks of roads were packed and the sidewalks crammed with colorfully dressed people enjoying the mild weather. The city of Leda was alive all around her and she spotted a few famous places. A pretty stone fence separated the roads from what C.C guessed to be the main plaza and she could closely see the massive cathedral that dominated the skyline. With a steep roof and graceful towers it looked as though it had been carved from a single piece of blinding white ice and then had been infused with the delicate patterns that decorated its surface.

The woman beside her cheerfully commented on it. "That's the Cathedral of Saint Beatrix, and you should really ask a scholar from the academy over there-" she pointed to a lower building made of surly grey stone "-to give you a tour. They know everything there is to know about the cathedral, as it's been around longer than the city itself. And you could even tour the academy, cuz they love to show off to anyone who will listen but you won't be allowed in a few of the labs, I'm afraid. In Vogue is preparing a post-war exhibition that Prince Schneizel himself will be contributing to...I'm so excited!" She clapped her hands after this very unprofessional display of friendliness. "My name is Natasha, by the way. Just call me that."

C.C found it hard to stop goggling at the wonderful sights and managed a half-interested. "I see." _I should roll down the window to get some fresh air..;_

Oblivious to her want for silence the soldier-cum-tour guide prattled on. "Everything is so busy because of the new Empress' coronation that's happening on Christmas Day..."

C.C had mostly been blocking her out but that statement grabbed her attention. "Natasha, did you say Christmas Day?"

"Yeah I did, and that makes it quite a nightmare for hotel bookings if you ask me, the rooms cost an arm and a leg so my sister is staying with Great-Uncle Ferdinand who-"

_So they're going for the whole 'miracle on Christmas' theme, eh?_

The road tapered off and the buildings lining the road became more and more ornate. Natasha apparently recognized their location and began a spouting her memorized facts. "The Imperial Villa of Gemini was built in 1950 by the then Emperor Ares ni Britannia...it's right out your window, take a look!"

Seeing only lusciously swaying trees along her limited sightline C.C stuck her face out of the window and shaded her eyes to see what was considered the crown jewel of the city, and was not disappointed. Her eyes were drawn up the pale yellow stone and across the shimmering green tiles reminiscent of a dragons back that coated the roof and sprouted a plus-shaped second layer that had almost no decoration, for it was covered in a smart line of floor-to ceiling windows that reflected the sun rather inconveniently. Their car turned the corner to an ivy-encrusted wrought iron fence that led to a yawning avenue of stairs; each foot-wide step flanked by two soldiers. And waving proudly above the whole marvel was a freshly sewn Britannian flag, a stylized lion eternally fighting the snake.

Their abrupt stop was accompanied by a lurch in her gut and she felt the rubbery bacon she'd had for breakfast threaten to make a reappearance. Not really knowing what was happening she was led up the steps by Natasha and then direceted through a great number of halls. Stopping at what C.C presumed to be the Throne Halls entrance she squared her shoulders and prepared to face her judgement.

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><p>Reveiwer of the Week: renielle14 . You seem to be the only one who did, but that's okay XD Truth is I had no idea how to do this chapter (as it was originally scheduled for last week) but on Thursday it consisted of merely a witty exchange between Schneizel and C.C that couldn't be worked into anything plot-forward, and the deadline loomed ever-closer...<p>

Special Thanks to my scribe


	31. Summation

Summation

Having reached thirty chapters I decided to do a recap.

Our tale begins at the end of the Second Black Rebellion, after Emperor Lelouch sacrifices himself as the epitome of evil. As Kallen reels from the realization that he was a hero to the very end his body is collected and given a half-assed funeral attended by C.C, Nunnally, and a few other people of importance. Saying her goodbyes, C.C realizes that Lelouch has obtained his fathers Code of Immortality and steals his body. While Nunnally is swept into the hurried process of becoming Empress, C.C flees to the countryside with the sort-of-dead Lelouch. He eventually reawakens in a random barn and is forcibly stripped by C.C, something that I bet has already spawned another story. The two are discovered by their faithful comrade Jeremiah 'Orange' Gottwald and start a hunky-dory life living with him and the former Knight Anya Alstreim. The curtain would have closed then, but C.C learns that she's pregnant by Lelouch after some spontaneous sexy time that they shared during his reign as Emperor.

Meanwhile, Nunnally is understandably unhappy about taking her brother's crown, and driven semi-bonkers by guilt and loneliness Suzaku suspects that Lelouch has lied about the entire Zero Requiem. Kallen confirms her suspicions about Zero's new identity and slowly adjusts to normal life while nursing her mother back to health.

Responisible as ever, Lelouch stays by his witch and they move to a small house of their own off the edges of Jeremiah's property. Though certain that the baby is a girl he keeps it a secret from Orange Boy because he doesn't want to make his war buddy think their efforts were for nothing. C.C and Lelouch look forward to the future, as young parents free from the threat of returning to the battlefield. But after C.C injures herself riding they're forced to make a dangerous trip to the Shinjuku Ghetto to determine whether the baby has been harmed or not. They separate and promise to meet each other at Pizza Hut, and after encountering a few of Lelouch's former slaves C.C finds out that she's having a son. The witch then falls into a trap and is captured by the Royal Guard; telling lots of lies in an effort to protect the fact that Lelouch is still alive and to besmirch his name just a little bit more.

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><p><em>Exodus, <em>the next chapter (that's still being released 3/2) is going to be a risk. When sleep is scarce I fervidly giggle to myself about an idea that's nonsensically strange in the morning, but I might just be able to pull this one off.


	32. Exodus, Part I

Chapter 32- Exodus, Part I

Lelouch

The sticky plastic seat was smearing grease onto his shirt. But Lelouch knew that he already looked and smelled homeless, and that a few cheese stains never hurt anyone. _I'm surprised that the waitresses haven't noticed that I've come here every day. _He absently picked at the wax paper that was under his untouched slice of pizza. _I'm sick of this awful cheese…When we get home I'll make something extra nice for dinner._ Lelouch caught himself smiling, more at the thought of what would undoubtedly happen after than eating the actual meal. _And the best part is that after this short intermission, we have an eternity. The love of my life, our daughter and two friends who have been through the worst with us….heh…those words don't seem to belong to me._

A loosening sensation in his right foot brought his attention to the boot he was wearing as the seam had split right down the side. _Well, it looks like Jeremiah won't be getting his boots back. _With a smirk he thought that he would actually be praised for wearing them through with good honest work. _I would have never thought that a simple life was right for me._

But he was worried about C.C, and a small part of him dared wonder if she was ever going to come back. _What if Lucca really was hurt? What if- _half-formed tears itched his eyes –_C2 took too hard of a fall and….and…I can't even think about it. But my little girl could be… _He didn't anticipate the tiny sob that rattled in his chest and the table beside him stopped tearing apart their chicken wings and looked at him with mild interest. Lelouch stared at his waxy pizza slice and decided to get some fresh air. He made for the door and caught the hostess' attention, telling her that if a beautiful woman with long green hair ever came in to direct her to his table.

The frigid wind was nice after the obfuscating reek of pizza, and Lelouch noticed a much smaller number of people in the streets. Surveying the huddled forms wrapped in rags he thought that they all seemed to be Japanese, and knew why. _All of the displaced Britannians couldn't stand getting a taste of their own medicine. With no polices to make them the upper class they are now the outsiders. _Nobody on the streets paid attention to him and went about their business; Lelouch was now completely confident that he would never be recognized as their former Emperor. After searching the storefronts he found what he was looking for, a pawn shop, and pushed through the bell-laden door.

Though the smell of mothballs made him gag Lelouch ventured into the dingy corner and spotted a crib for sale. The lone shopkeeper didn't look up from the tiny television perched on her counter top and continued to loudly chew her sandwich. Not even bothering to check the crib's price tag Lelouch was beginning to think how unreal the whole situation was…_sure I've seen her belly and appetite get bigger, but I haven't quite gotten used to the fact that she's growing a person._

He decided that he might as well buy the crib and raised his voice so that the shopkeeper could hear him over the morning news. "Excuse me, is this collapsible?"

She didn't even look away from the TV and shushed him. The peppy newscaster on the screen was reporting her story from the front of a large white building that Lelouch didn't recognize. "Britannia is ready to embrace a new monarch!" She crowed, batting her over-done lashes. "And on Christmas Day, Her Royal Highness Nunnally vi Britannia will be formally crowned and invested with regalia. There's been no word on whether Cecinah Chulainn capture has impacted-"

_Cecinah Chulainn's capture… _Lelouch hoped his ears had deceived him, and the words were a physical blow that made him sink to his knees. The musty carpet served as some kind of padding for his bony legs and Lelouch distantly turned his attention back to the program. "-the Royal Family hasn't shared any more information on the matter, and calls to their representatives have not been answered ever since Prince Schneizel's return from Iceland. We can only guess what's going on, but our partners at MINX News Network have been told from a palace insider that she has been acquitted of her crimes. Leading experts in the field cite a form of brainwashing as the cause behind her violent acts. Our source claimed that Prince Schneizel fought the hardest for this ruling, his motive unknown." She tossed her blue hair and smiled at the camera. "And now a word from our sponsors…."

As an animated Cheese-kun began prancing on a breadstick Lelouch realized that he'd left the orange plushy back in the restaurant. But he didn't move a muscle to retrieve it, as _some sticky-fingered little kid can have it._

He saw his entire future dissolve into nothing but a dream; for every wistful imagining would now never be realized. How he'd yearned to someday hold a little bundle of blankets close to his heart, to push back a corner of the fabric and see the soft peachy face of a newborn baby….in a few versions she even had sparkling purple eyes like her father. _Her father…..her father….__one day, she'll be curious about who he was. And I dread the day when she's sentient enough to be ashamed._

Now he would never awaken to the cries of his child, hear beginning footsteps on the floor or show her the stars. They would never sit down as a family and have a long talk about the Zero Requiem, the delicate balance of the world and why daddy sometimes woke up screaming_. But instead the lies created to placate the world will be forced upon her from day one…never able to shake the fact of who her parents are. __What could Schneizel be aiming for? Some kind of lavender affair with his brother's mistress, maybe…no, Schneizel dislikes drama and C2 would never agree to be touted around by that oversized blond gorilla in a million years. _Lelouch was hit with a fresh wave of horror. _Does he know about C2's immortality? Is he planning to re-open the branch of research that pertains to the Code or even re-establish the Geass Order? _

It was the uncertainity that infuriated him the most, and the fact that he couldn't forcibly abduct her lest the the hard-won peace be shattered. In a faraway place the news program was now 'going inside the action' and showing a slow pan of the majestic cathedral where his dream would be fulfilled. His face felt like tarred leather being manhandled as it changed out of a grimace; and with his destination in mind Lelouch took his first step down the lonely road, the only one he had ever truly known.

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><p><em>Exodus, Part II<em>

Re-watching the series, I find myself liking other characters now that I'm not as blinded by Lelouch's awesomeness.

Guilford: I am Lord Gilbert P. Guilford-

Me: No you're not! You're adorable!

'Lelouch knew that he already looked and smelled homeless' I feel like I've already used that *shrug*

Reveiwer of the Week: 4braxas

In that adorable picture, Lelouch is seething with envy for Cheese-kun:]


	33. Exodus, Part II

The father unknowingly pines

A daughter, lapsed in designs

Kin so thoroughly accepted

Eager hopes long intercepted

Now learn to read between the lines.

-Dissolution

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><p>Chapter 33-Exodus, Part II<p>

Lelouch

The box is like a coffin.

Lelouch switches his position to keep his legs from falling asleep. _It's still a free voyage to Britannia, even if the conditions are this unfavorable. _Unfavorable as is being smuggled in a crate like a sack of potatoes. The only other occupant cleared his throat, and they were squished so close together that Lelouch could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke. "That's my arm you're sitting on."

"Sorry."

He tried to move in the extremely limited space but ended up smashing his head on the wooden side, his face stinging. Moving to touch the sore spots Lelouch's elbow met some unidentifiable body part and his crate-mate winced. "Stop moving!" the man hissed, more out of annoyance than pain.

In the first minutes of their enclosure Lelouch had introduced himself as Lawrence, and the other man replied with Kei. At first they had joked about the strangeness of their situation but the light banter soon faded as the air got stuffier and the pins and needles more aggravating. Irritated, Lelouch wished he had a scathing rebuttal at hand but came up with nothing. Instead he wrapped his hands around his knees and cursed the four-by-six foot square of darkness he had been in for an unknown stretch of time. Despite the soothing hum of a distant motor that radiated throughout the space sleep seemed impossible, especially when cuddled up to a stranger.

Normal rules of time don't seem to apply to the box.

Three _or was it five?_ hours ago he'd made up his mind about where to drift and hitchhiked to the port of Yokohoma. _Jeremiah and Anya already know what's happened, and if I returned, well… I'm a coward to not own up to my mistakes. But when it comes out that I've been lying about this for so long they may take advantage of the fact that I can recover from any type of wound. Anyway, the house and my life would be devoid of the reason for my settling there. I haven't taken to farming and only did that to scratch out a living, just a series of tasks that needed to be done every morning._

That's what drew him to the only international transport that wasn't clogged with money-burning Britannians, and as he was concocting a scheme to lie his way onto one of the glistening luxury liners a nondescript man had called his attention. _They knew exactly what to look for. _After admitting his lack documentation Lelouch was led to a crusty ship that was taking baubles and furniture back to the homeland, where he was quietly offered a free yet illegal passage. Though suspicious of their goodwill he promised to not make a peep or otherwise alert 'Captain' that she had stowaways and was given a crate to hide in. Before Lelouch could get his bearings in the darkness that followed Kei was shoved in with him. In the box's pitch-black depths Lelouch had to form his own image about what he looked like and lacking any detail settled for an uglier version of bored with his thoughts Lelouch didn't bother to strike up a conversation. But in case it came up he had a story ready…_I'm Lawrence Emerson, a twenty-two year old math teacher who wants to be reunited with his fiancé, Katherine._

Kei gave a sigh of defeat. "I think I'm going to suffocate." Every once in a while he would make a nervous comment like this and after muttering half-hearted reassurances Lelouch just found it best to ignore him.

But his patience for whiners had considerably lessened over the last hour and Lelouch kept his voice clinical. "Then that means more air for me." _Alright, that was harsh. Maybe he's not bellyaching and is scared of the dark._ "Just relax. It'll be over soon." He tried switching to a position that didn't force him to hunch over and out of nowhere Kei shoved into him. _What the- _

"Push with me!" He said right in Lelouch's ear, with the tone of a person who was used to giving orders.

"Why?"

"We're stacked on top of something, and the fall will definitely cause a few cracks that'll get some air in here."

That did seem like a good idea and wasn't he beginning to feel lightheaded himself? Wary of their stutus he reasoned that _the fallen crate could be explained away by rough seas, and a captain goes nowhere near the cargo hold. _"On three?"

"Sure."

They both edged to the farthest corner of the crate and once Lelouch gave the command they both threw their weight against the wooden wall. Kei must have been heavier-set than Lelouch had guessed for it surely wasn't him that made the box give a little wiggle. They agreed to try once more and after a perfectly synced collision the box began to teeter. The distance of their fall being unknown it was actually a little exciting as the wood on every side of them began to shift and strain until gravity won out and sent them crashing to the floor. Lelouch felt his stomach drop for the millisecond he was in midair and the crate landed corner first; smashing open with an earsplitting crack and sending him tumbling onto the pile of splintered wood. It would have been fine had Kei not landed on top of him, for the pieces of crate would have harmlessly poked into his back. But the weight of a grown man drove him into what were essentially stakes.

It was mostly the suprise that made him roar with agony, and Kei was too winded from the fall to move. _If I die now...my recovery will too hard to explain. Get up, Lelouch. _No longer blinded by shock Lelouch could steady himself enough to blink away the tears that were making his vision fuzzy. "Gerr...offf." He puffed, eager to be free from the man on his chest. Kei's weight vanished and Lelouch breathed the fresh air, glad to discover that the wounds weren't as serious as he thought and his lungs were unharmed. But a glance in Kei's direction knocked the air out of him again, for even in the semi-darkness there was no mistaking that face. It was associated with _enemy, mortal enemy_ but Kanon Maldini himself didn't know he was in the presence of his greatest adversary.

He seemed oblivious to Lelouch's predicament and brushed invisible pieces of wood off his commoner clothing. "I really hope they didn't hear that." His blue eyes flickered around the cargo hold as if he expected armed crewmembers to burst in. _Get up, Lelouch. There's no chance he'll recognize you and the conditions are to your favor; there's only an emergency light to see by. _

Lelouch decided on downplaying his wounds so he wouldn't have to fake them later and shakily got to his feet. After seeing the blood Kanon wordlessly flitted to his side and perhaps so comfortable with attending to his Prince began to gingerly remove some of the wood. "Some of these are quite deep-"

Not wanting to reveal his identity Lelouch shrank away. "It's only a few splinters on the surface. You can leave it." _But a normal person would be concerned for their health._

Kanon pressed on. "Lawrence, it could be hours before we reach Britannia. And you'll suffer the whole way like this...If you're worried about the pain we could step outside into a better light and they'll be out in no time."

Unable to protest Lelouch grudgingly helped him search for an exit, his mind furiously churning for a solution. They found one that led to the ship's deck, and it was empty save for a spindly railing that was between them and the water. After getting a good view of Lelouch's face in the starlight Kanon stopped in his tracks, pensively biting his lip. "This might be a strange question, but are you...a celebrity or something? I have the strangest feeling that I've seen your face before."

An insane idea flashed through Lelouch's mind and before he could think he had already plucked the largest shard of wood from his back and made a clumsy lunge in the direction of Kanon's throat. Of course he missed and Kanon leaped backwards against the railing; Lelouch, lacking the dexterity to recover, was carried forward by the strength of his attack and something heavy hit the back of his head when it neared the ground. His face skidded the iron deck and a well-aimed boot was about to land on the base of his neck when Lelouch reached up in an instinctive motion of defense. His hand closed around an ankle and that's when an invisible branding iron stabs into his stomach. Milliseconds later the unbearable heat conducts to his hand in a current that felt like lightning.

As if bludgeoned with a cartoon-sized hammer Kanon slumped onto the railing, and despite being dangerously close to the edge he made to attempt to hold on. It took a second for Lelouch to figure out what had just happened, and he foolishly thinks immediately that, for lack of a better explanation, the man had just had a heart attack. But one look at Kanon's face proves otherwise. Lelouch didn't know what he was seeing but it must have been truly, truly horrible.

Getting off the deck and straightening himself up Lelouch was surprised to feel a bit of regret about what _I have to do…There's no doubt who you're running back to, and I can't risk having him know I'm alive. This will be my first, and hopefully last, hands-on murder. _It was different somehow…all of the deaths he'd caused were from a spoken command or controlled machine, much less personal than laying his hands on the victim as he was doing now. Paralyzed from the shock images Kanon made no move to resist as Lelouch struggled to lift him from under the arms. With a gargantuan heave Lelouch ignored the protests of his wounded body and wrestled the soldier over the railing and released him.

The dark shadow plummeted towards the water and Lelouch was rewarded with a tremendous splash. Now that it was over he felt a soothing calm quell any doubts and he couldn't help but see this _as almost a kind of retribution. _An image of C.C ensnared by chains and begging faceless scientists to let her go was the one that came to mind, a prisoner in the land that was once his kingdom.

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><p>Sorry Kanon D: Though you're in my favorite pairing of the moment, that doesn't mean I shall spare you. This website is being very screwy<p>

CGBlueManiac:

I originally had that happening but ran out of time, and remember it may crop up later because the conversations are usually the first thing I write and, for example, bits and pieces of my notes are so out of order that most of Chapter 10 was written right after Chapter 1 and I already have a bunch of scenes that are supposed to happen twenty yeas later written. And to answer the question about C.C, she was lured into a trap, remember?

Dissolution: I'm flattered that someone would put in the work of writing a poem about something I've written. Thankys!:D

MightyMonopolyMan: Yeah, the 'love of my life' part was a bit un-Lelouch-y, but I just wanted to get that out before his future came crashing down all around him. And yes, that is Boulevard of Broken Dreams in the end:}

Debido: He would be angry that his woman was taken but he couldn't really run around smashing windows and then collapse onto the street flailing wildly...you shall see, you shall see...

_Ultimatum_


	34. Ultimatum

Chapter 34-Ultimatum

Nunnally

It took a good deal of thrashing, but Nunnally felt an immense sense of satisfaction looking in the mirror and seeing that she was fully dressed, and had done it all by herself. Seeing that the black gowns hemline was now inches above her ankle she made a

As of late she had been going out of her way to assert the fact that she was now doing basic things by herself, because _if the highest authority figure on the planet can't even put on a dress, she probably can't rule her empire._ The last few weeks had flown by, and it all seemed to be happening too fast as her coronation was in two days.

The palace was already fit to burst with nobility who had left their tropical vacation homes to attend the event and the noise from their revelry only quieted down after two in the morning, much to her annoyance. They were also hoping to sneak a peek at or even meet the elusive and infamous Miss Chulainn who was rumored to be a personal guest of the Second Prince. Nunnally herself had only approved those arrangements and dreaded any kind of interaction, even though she had several burning questions to ask her. Not wanting to go through the torture of finding out Lelouch had betrayed her she kept her nose clean, memorized her oaths, and rehearsed the ceremony for hours.

After all, upon his return Schneizel had promised to make the 'distraction' 'go away', whatever that meant._ I used to hate his secretiveness, but he has my best interest at heart. _A knock on the door interrupted her lofty stream of thought and one of her many maids entered, looking somewhat relieved that she didn't have to wake Nunnally up.

"Good morning, your majesty." She said, saying nothing about the fact that her job was already done. "Your schedule for today is a fitting at ten, which is in…uh..thirty minutes. And then you meet with Lady Saarthal for weapons training until noon, when you will be meeting Prince Schneizel and Princess Cornelia for lunch in the Emperor's Tower. And, uh, what do wish to have for breakfast ma'am?"

Nunnally bristled with disgust and heaved a tormented sigh. _A girl in a wheelchair killing someone sounds like the punch line of a joke, yet Cornelia insists I waste the knight's time…. Who was ever killed by just a dagger? I'm not doing it._ "I'm not hungry. And tell Lady Saarthal that I'm feeling ill today."

The maid understood that she was dismissed and curtsied, muttering about how it was bad to tick off people with weapons. Ready to start the day Nunnally began attacking the tangled mess that was her hair with her brush, mentally preparing herself for hours of being measured and poked by pins.

* * *

><p><em>Doing nothing really does work up an appetite. <em>She thought as she headed for the Emperor's Tower. _I wonder who it is that's making such an effort to act like a family with all these meals together and such. I'm not used to it. _The winding staircase of bluish stone was concealed an elevator that was normally meant for the staff, and Nunnally wheeled herself into the large compartment. When she arrived at the top she must have been early, for the ornate golden lamps wern'nt lit and the short hall was empty. Nevertheless she pushed the ebony ballroom doors open with a great push to reveal a large room that's walls were dominated by windows that offered a view of the whole city, and the floor was a griseous stone that had swirls of silver inlaid in it. At the sunniest end a table was set for four, and one of the cozy-looking chairs was already occupied.

Nunnally had seen a vampire movie once, and the woman before her looked just like a creature of the undead. Everything was normal with her appearance until she saw the eyes…..the vampires had had the same hypotonic stare. Albeit theirs was full of bloodlust while C.C's just contained a sad sort of emptiness, further augmented by how listlessly she was looking out at the city. _Why is she dressed like a noble? _A heavy gold earring decorated the ear that held back a flawless sheath of brilliant green hair and her clothes fit perfectly. Once Nunnally entered the room those haunting gold eyes settled on her, and C.C hurriedly got to her feet and curtsied with some difficulty. A massive word vomit built up in Nunnally's mind and she struggled to calmly wheel herself over to one of the places and sit down, patting her skirt like a proper little lady. "You can sit." She said, trying to at least appear friendly and forcing a smile that came out as a grimace.

C.C chose a seat opposite to her and looked at the silverware. "I know it must be hard-" she began, but having being told things like that for too long Nunnally felt a surge of bitter anger.

"Hard for me? To be in the process of taking my brother's throne and then suddenly have_ you_ show up? The one person who could make everything go wrong, everything he died for go wrong?"

"Nunal- Your Majesty, it's not as if I walked right in and asked the guards to take me away, I would rather-"

There was something cathartic about grilling her like this, to make her suffer as well. So Nunnally unearthed the thing that were best left buried and took it out on the hapless witch. "Slink off into oblivion? Please do. Don't try and shake my trust in Lelouch, he made a promise!" She didn't know that she had almost been yelling, and her voice dropped. "I saw it myself." _What did I just say? Will she think I'm mad with grief and making things up? _

But C.C's expression changed from one of alarmed surrender to intense interest. "You saw it…" She thought about this for a moment. "Nunnally, did this happen after he was…stabbed?"

Nunnally felt so weak with surprise she didn't notice that her first name had been used . "Yes, how did you… did you know?" Something with C.C made her feel safe about sharing this. Something that she could have with an almost total stranger but not her half-siblings. "I mean, I've always had a strange way of understanding people that was useful when I couldn't see, but nothing more than a feeling. Nothing like this."

The witch was successfully soothing the troubled girl and put the icing on the cake, giving the only explanation she could to someone without knowledge of the Code. "It may have happened because Lelouch wanted you to see that so badly. He knew you would understand his true intentions, but still loved you so much that he could communicate through a vision." Moisture gathered in her eyes and made the gold colour sparkle. "I know how much of an inconvenience I am to you. And I don't want to be in the way of Lelouch's dream. This baby was never intended and if everything had gone as planned he wouldn't exist. But now that he does…he's a part of Lelouch that won't be driven incur the wrath of the world or become a martyr." A flicker of hope caused her to smile. "Because his name is Etienne and he better be cute." _Is she…really only sixteen?_

Opening her mouth to reply with more things she would probably regret spilling later Nunnally heard footsteps approaching from the staircase outside.

"Just send her to the Adinia Estate out south." Cornelia was saying, and then she identified her companion. "Oh, don't start sulking, you have nine other houses to visit with your boy toys."

Though she had never actually seen him sulk Nunnally could tell Schneizel was not in his usual blasé mood. "Even though they're in good humor, I don't appreciate your disparaging remarks about my personal life."

When the pair of royals strolled into the room moments later, Cornelia at least looked concerned that Nunnally had been left alone with C.C for an unknown amount of time. "Miss Chulainn! How long have you been here, and Nunnally…it's nice to see you but aren't you supposed to be with Saarthal?"

Schneizel didn't heed his half-sister and warmly greeted the pair. "How is your coronation gown looking, Nunnally? And Miss Chulainn, thank you for joining us."

As they sat down Nunnally answered both questions. "I like how it's turning out. The width of the skirt is being changed so it won't get caught in my wheelchair. And yes I was supposed to be training right now but I slept on my arm in a strange way, so it hurt this morning."

After waiting the respectful time for them to reply C.C spoke next. "I've been here ever since the doctors finished with me at quarter 'til twelve, Your Highness. Because this tower is supposed to be the tall..."

Servants arrived at the perfect moment with the food and it turned out to be a delicious stew and various fancy breads.

"Good choice, Cornelia." Schneizel said as he waited for Nunnally to start eating."For I'm tired of rich foods, and if it had been salmon as originally planned...after Iceland I will never eat another piece of fish again."

"Why, did you eat a lot of fish?" Nunnally had heard hardly anything about her brother's time overseas and saw this as an oppurtunity to get a good story or two.

"Fish for lunch and dinner, and dried fish for breakfast. It was when our reinforcements and supplies were being held back by a blizzard that the whole army occupied a series of ice caves, and we ran out of food but found this peculiar species that was in this pool of black water…there's really no other way to describe it. We survived a whole week on only that and melted snow."

C.C finally piped up "But how could a prince be forced to suffer like that in his own land?"

"The rebels had taken over our colony, and it was rather insulting to have to invade a palace that was rightfully ours."

* * *

><p>Fancy bread.<p>

_Befall_


	35. Befall

Chapter 35- Befall

C.C

Groggily awakening to her modestly sized room C.C wasn't sure whether she wanted to get out of bed. _It would be so easy to decay into a vegetable here with all these servants._ 'Security' measures didn't allow her to leave her rooms until nine, and after glancing at the clock she decided to go back to sleep. Maybe she would have one of those nice dreams with Lelouch in it or just and ordinary one, anything but the nightmares. She dismissed them as a merely a product of all the stress she was under, but there was a certain one that most mommies-to-be never had to fear.

A tall and delicately-figured man dressed in a bejeweled robe of white gazed down from his throne onto a row of prisoners that were slated for execution. Horrified masses lined each street and murmured discontentedly to themselves about the injustice of it all, but could do nothing to oppose their tyrannical Emperor. The Emperor being the man in white, his face a less severe Lelouch's and his eyes an unnerving gold. He seemed nervous and kept glancing at the horizon until a black-cloaked figure appeared. When the crowd gasped and the relieved smile of a dying man getting his final wish spread across the Emperor's face C.C always woke up crying and would be overcome with dread for her son's future.

Out of the darkest reaches of her mind and into the bright morning room C.C looked at herself in a spotless mirror. _Well of course I've gotten fatter. _She stifled a grin when she remembered the royal family's astonishment after she'd finished three pizzas all by herself and had asked for more. _And one of them was the deluxe kind with extra sausage and- _a knock interrupted her pizza fantasy and she threw on the nearest dress, opening the door to one of Schneizel's personal guards.

"Good morning, Miss. His Highness has requested that I escort you to your gown fitting."

C.C had no idea what he was talking about. "A gown? For what?"

The man looked a little concerned. "Er...Empress Nunnally is being crowned today at noon in the cathedral of St. Beatrix, and Prince Schneizel granted you special permission to attend."

"Oh!" _I've been so forgetful lately...I must be losing my mind in this place. _"Yes, I'm ready to go right now."

"Good."

He set of at a brisk pace and led her through the servant's back routes to avoid the swarms of visiting nobility and dignitaries that had seemingly swarmed the palace over night. A good Christmas cheer added to the festive mood and Britannia's bloody legacy was momentarily forgotten as people came together to celebrate the new Empress.

When they arrived at room occupied by several sweing machines the guard began rummaging thorugh a rack full of fat plastic bags that were meant to hold clothing and such. "There's not enough time to properly customize a coronet but at least you'll have a robe to wear." He handed C.C a heavy velvet mass that once righted was a simple floor-length coat with a white ermine collar that was half a foot wide. An assistant then shoved something made of the same silky fur into her hands and began snapping orders to a few of the seamstresses who were doing last-minute fixes. C.C figured the object out to be a cape that was longer than she was tall. After trying it on and as measurements were hastily being made to the shorten her robe the flock of seamstresses were brushed aside by a furious woman.

"Why on Earth is someone wearing my robe? I send it over for a tear to be fixed and find that it's been pawned off to a…a…"

Before she tore the robe off of C.C the guard fluidly plucked it from the witch's shoulders and gave it back to the rightful owner. "My sincerest apologies, Lady Desni. We mistook it for a spare, no harm done." He purposefully stepped on C.C's toes but before she could apologize the irate duchess' face transformed into a horrifying scowl.

"Oh, so she's attending? Why must His Highness make a mockery of the peers on an important day like this." Her last statement was accompanied by a sad shake of her head and she swept away.

Quick to recover the seamstresses got back to work and the gurad assured C.C that there were a few extra ones and after giving her directions to a storage room claimed that there was an incident unfolding in the throne room that required his help. As C.C began the short walk she repeated the instructions in her head so she wouldn't forget them. _Go straight until the tiles are blue and then right at the statue of Saint Talos, got it._

Prefering to stay to her rooms she had never been this far into the palace before and was stuck when her current hallway split into a fork, for she didn't know that Gemini Palace's most famous feature was that it was completely symmetrical. C.C chose the left path at random and encouraged by the décor's increasing opulence dodged the snoozing guards and tried the central door, entering to what was most defintely not a storage room.

The large space looked out onto a peaceful courtyard bursting with greenery and three quarters of the walls were covered with meticulously arranged bookshelves. Though there even were even a few paintings by Clovis hanging on the walls and an ancient battle axe resting in a case the space felt oddly impersonal; as cold and unwelcoming as its owner. _Why on Earth would I be given directions to Schneizel's quarters? I'm insulted that I would be taken for a fool like this and fall for a silly guard's twisted prank! _She had the strangest thought that it would be rather satisfying to see the cute portrait of a teenage Odysseus picking flowers for Cornelia lying in shreds upon the polished floor, but the spontaneous anger faded as soon as it had arose.

She then realized that she could snoop around a little bit. _I'm sure that Schneizel would be at the cathedral by now...maybe there is something to the guard's instructions and there are a few spare robes are lying around. _The library was full of buttery leather and suspiciously well-coordinated colours but there was no crimson velvet in sight, so C.C headed for the single door that was slightly ajar. In the narrow slice of visibility she gained she could see that sure enough, in the next room over and folded on the top if a peculiar statue was a crisp and unused robe still lovingly wrapped in a transparent sheath. It was only when she stepped through the ajar door did C.C realize she was not alone and gave a sizeable jump when Schneizel spoke to the cruel-looking woman he was video-conferencing with.

"-because I know that you love big, fancy parties."

Lucky for C.C he was leafing through the contents of an ominous manilla folder and did not notice that she was there. Knowing that if she dashed back out the door either one of them would notice her she panicked and dove behind the nearest large object, a antique sofa only a foot away from the door. Her collision with the floor must have made some sort of noise for the rustling of paper stopped, and C.C could hear Arthur purring from where he was curled up on the prince's lap. The four-inch space between the floor and her cover seemed painfully wide as she watched him cross the room and close her last avenue of escape.

His conversation partner spoke, in a friendly way that didn't match her appearence. _Where have I heard that voice before?_ "A big, fancy party that I'm keeping you from. Perhaps another time would be more convenient-"

"No, my pet project is far more important than the religious ramblings and scented smoke that the Archbishop is using to entertain out guests right now. I've even allowed our subject to attend...such the excellent luck we've had with getting her comfortable and settled." He said, nonchalantly explaining that his kind behavior towards _the subject is a sham, and this 'subject' been given special permission to attend...he can't mean that- "_Code R will resume operation after the necessary equipment is acquired."

The words that Schneizel spoke as if he were discussing the weather made C.C's blood run cold. Code R. Project C.C. _It really wasn't that long ago. At the time I didn't care about the eight-hours-a-day seven-days-a-week testing that I was subjected to, perhaps I even wished they would find a way to take my Code and end that miserable existence. In their eyes I was not a human being. _That's why the woman was familiar: she was the Dr. Aila van Exel who's voice had been endlessly barking orders over the intercom to Start Procedure V-59 and Enter Lockdown Mode. _The scientists weren't cruel to me and I wasn't harmed, but _how Lelouch always looks slightly embarassed when he tells C.C that he loves her and how the baby inside her seems to be most active when she's trying to fall asleep..._Maybe in those days I wasn't a human being at all, just an undying sack of skin that held a bundle of nerves and bone that was okay for the scientists to cut out of me. With something, someone to live for I can't let that happen again. _C.C was overcaome with the urge that had been festering in the back of her mind ever since the first day here, to just walk out the front gates and fry anyone who tried to stop her with a deadly sequence of shock images.

The doctor made a disgruntled sound that startled C.C back to the present. "Hmmph. That explains the royal treatment you've been spoiling her with. Maybe you should cut back as it will only make the adjustment harder."

"You science types do love your cold metal tables, don't you?" Schneizel gave a quaint little laugh.

"It just gets under my skin when my property gets treated like a princess and a friend of yours since childhood is sent to the bush lands of Australia."

The conversation instantly switched from a discussion between friends to a prince and his underling. The tiniest hint of danger crept into Schneizel's voice. "Who are you talking to, Aila? Not to me, not with that much disrespect…."

"Oh, ah..I beg your pardon, my lord prince."

C.C imagined Schneizel nodding and he carried on as id nothing had ever happened. "As soon as my nephew is born and C2 tragically runs away you can do whatever you like with her. I had the whole team replaced and managed to steal Ingrid Berkastel, the one who did a stint as a prison warden, from our European branch...you'll like the experiments she's designed. Illegal in the EU, and only to be allowed in Britannia because she's on my payroll."

"We've always known that Project #33 was dangerous."

"Yes. After his mother has given birth and then run off to who knows where, out of kindness I could adopt him as my own thus giving him a parental figure and letting me remain unmarried. Win-win. C.C would probably have been a bad example for him and shaped him into a threat to Her Majesty. and that's a clever way to wriggle out of myobligations as Prince.

It was difficult for C.C to keep herself under control, for a constricting vise of fear had tightened around her body. _He wants to eliminate me and keep Etienne. _

* * *

><p>The crowd of crimson robes barely fit into the cathedral's interior even though it was the biggest one in the country. Though the soaring ceilings were exquisitely painted by the masters of old nobody was paying attention to that, for all of the eight thousand people were focused on the grand set of doors that would soon reveal their new monarch. The higher your peerage the closer to the front you sat and C.C had been ushered into one of the last rows. If anyone recognized her they said nothing or were just too occupied with talking to their fellow blue bloods, and feeling rather lonely C.C found herself just wishing to get it over with.<p>

Dreading who she might see C.C scanned the seats reserved for foreign dignitaries and sure enough, amidst the sea of faces she spotted the First Family of Japan, Kaname Ohgi and company. _I wonder if our kids will end up being friends. That is, if Etienne isn't snatched away from me first._ The month-old Hiroko goggled at so many people from his father's arms and gave a tiny sneeze of awe. _They'll leave me alone, so I'll be fine._ But when Kallen had returned to her seat beside the Prime Minister C.C averted her gaze and moved to sit so she was shielded behind the ridiculously tall L'sod family. _I wonder if they'll have pizza at the banquet._

Her mouth began to water at the thought of sausage and peppers when the distant boom of cannon fire caused a hush to fall upon the crowd. C.C cleared her throat as the doors slowly creaked open, and joined with the massive cry of "**The King is dead. Long live the Queen!"**

* * *

><p>Now it's time for….Spot the Skyrim Reference! The couple that I ship most of the time is of course C.C x Lelouch, then Kanon x Schneizel, and the most unlikely (and impossible) pairing that only I in the history of all things Code Geass has ever imagined…C.C x Schneizel! After I finish writing this, I want a salad.<p>

Reveiwer of the Week (sorta): Blank XIth

Woot! I think that's a good sign!


	36. Query

Chapter 36-Query

Kallen

One look around the Grand Banquet Hall and Kallen couldn't believe she was seeing so many important people in one place. _Though this useless bunch only consists of whomever randomly emerges from a royal or knighted womb and whoever that package of DNA and unearned privilege chooses to marry. At least Nunnally doesn't seem like the type to spend a fortune on bonbons and leave the empire-running to her siblings. _She felt Gino's hand trail up her arm and let herself be pulled into a rough kiss that was showy enough to be for someone else's benefit._ _Ugh.__

In the cathedral where Nunnally was crowned his allegiance to Britannia had required him to sit amongst the nobility, but now they were back at the palace anything went. And she'd planned to make use of these freeform arrangements to snag a seat beside C.C for the elegant dinner, but the witch had yet to make an appearance_. I wouldn't be surprised if she's too ashamed to show her face, but I'm not leaving this palace until I get a chance to see her!_

As Kallen darkly stared at her plate and continued to mull over the questions that had been bothering her small ripples were beginning to radiate on the surface of the water in her crystal goblet, and moments later the massive doors of the hall burst open. A pure black warhorse in full ceremonial dress thundered into the hall with a flash of midnight and some of the seated guests jumped to the feet while King Gabriel II of Romania fell out of his chair. The rider wore the kind of armor that only existed in a storybook and was so highly polished that looking at him or her made Kallen's eyes ache. Midway across the central rectangle of space that the tables were arranged around they removed their helmet with a graceful sweep. the rider removed their helmet, which released a cascade of periwinkle hair. Like a freight train the horse continued to the High Table but at the last moment it's rider steered the snorting beast to a turn so sharp that it's tail swiped across a baffled-looking Nunnally's plate.

Though the woman was so far away that Kallen couldn't make out her face she clearly heard what she was shouting.

"If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay our Sovereign Lady Nunnally, Queen and Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire, Defender of the Faith, daughter and next heir unto our Sovereign Lord the last King deceased, to be the right heir to the Imperial Crown of this Realm of Britannia, or that she ought not to enjoy the same; here is her Champion!"

_This could serve as the perfect distraction to let me slip away. _Checking to make sure that Gino was paying her no attention she slid from her chair and briskly walked past the rows of tables to the exit. The guards gave her no trouble as she roamed about the deserted sub-hall and choosing a path at random she began her quest to locate the witch. After passing an ugly statue she ran into an unavoidable security checkpoint.

"May I direct you back to the celebration, ma'am?" Asked one of the guards. Noticing how the other seven were giving her suspicious looks Kallen smiled brightly. "Oh no, it's fine. I'm just looking for the ladie's room."

"Then Elaine will show you to the one closest to the celebr-"

Kallen clapped a hand over her mouth and doubled over. "I'm gonna be sick!"

"Past this checkpoint to the right! You have ten minutes, and if you don't come back we'll be forced to respond as if to a security breach!" He yelled to Kallen as she ran to where she was directed. Once she was out of their sight Kallen was happy to find that she had reached the palace's residential section. _Now if I were a prince, where would I keep my pet girl?_

She headed for the off shooting hallway that she assumed would be the guest quarters and followed a trail of grease drips she found on the floor. When she knocked on the door it led to there was no response and feeling reckless she walked in. The source of the grease was a stack of empty pizza boxes, nine in fact. _This is definitely C.C's room._ One of her signature straightjackets rested over the back of a chair, but it appeared to have been ripped apart.

"C2?" Kallen called, not wanting to catch the witch unaware. "Miss Chulainn?"

The next room was dark and the bed served as an indication that something was wrong, for the pillows had been messily stuffed underneath the blankets to make it look like someone was sleeping. But the answer was found when Kallen looked a bit more closely at the open window and what was tied to the intricate stone carvings; a fluttering ladder made of bed sheets. _Since I'm not supposed to be here I can't exactly report this, and C.C isn't helpless. But why would she want to leave if the royal family is wrapped around her finger and she's living in the fanciest palace on the continent?_

A quick glance at a gilded clock that gently ticked from atop the fireplace revealed that eight of her ten minutes had already been spent, and Kallen realized that if C.C was found to be missing the guard she had paid off would definitely rat her out. _And some huge scandal would definitely lead to friction with Britannia, and that's the last thing we need._ So still pestered with her questions and hoping to foil the witch's escape attempt Kallen tied her skirt in a messy knot at her waist and carefully lowered herself out of the window. Though the gurgling fountain where she would be making her landing was only two floors down she instantly began to regret her decision.

_Maybe I'm not as fit as I thought I was._ She thought, her arms protesting as soon as she made them hold up her entire weight. I guess I'm only on the second floor, and if a pregnant witch can do it, so can I! The sheets felt awfully flimsy and when she had made it half-way down a gentle breeze began to pick up. Her hair had come out of its fancy bun and was sticking to her forehead like clumps of seaweed. With a gentle splash she dropped into the fountain underneath, and her skin seemed to tighten as goose bumps popped up all over her body_. The garden must be huge…. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Maybe C.C is already gone_. Nothing but the forlorn rustle of the hedges could be heard and the party felt like it was miles away.

Having abandoned her painful high-heels to make the climb the cool grass felt comforting under her sore feet as she stealthily began to make her way into a forest of shaped hedges. She had just passed a fleur-de-lis when the rustle of clothes alerted her of a guard, and Kallen sought refuge behind a sword.

It was a wince of pain that caught Kallen's attention and after plunging her arms into the cool mass of leaves she parted the hedge and found C.C at last. The witch was struggling to get a foothold on the towering walls and was sensibly dressed in dark pants and a jacket that was scuffed from the rough stones, her hair hidden under a slightly too-big beret. Though her face was red from cold, exertion or maybe even tears there was an unmistakable glow to it…this particular detail brought Kallen out of her silence.

"C2!" She barked, jumping out from behind the bush.

With a startled sound C.C nimbly leaped from the wall and landed into a crouch as if she were preparing to run away. But when she caught sight of Kallen her body eased up, and she leaned resignedly against the wall with the air of a kid who had been caught stealing cookies but would never admit to it.

"Kallen." Her voice was almost as chill as the air, and she defensively crossed her arms. "You should go back to the party, for I heard there was going to dessert buffet."

"Well, then why aren't you there?"

With a thick sniff C.C turned back to the wall. "I'm a little tired of life at the palace."

All the urgent questions were chased from Kallen's mind and replaced with a bitter anger. "Please, as if you don't enjoy cozying up to Lelouch's brother-"

"Half-brother."

"Big difference! No, that makes it worse."

"'It'? There's no it. And I can hardly stand him. I can hardly stand all of them, except for Nunnally at times."

Kallen didn't know why she felt so breathless and realized that she didn't know how to put her questions into words_ without sounding like a total moron_. She had been waiting for this moment ever since the witch's capture and pregnancy had been announced but somehow an accusatory interrogation no longer seemed like the right thing to do. They knew,_ or at least had known_, each other well from their year in hiding together. But that now only worsened the feeling of betrayal.

So after taking a deep breath Kallen forced herselfto make scrutinizing eye contact with the witch. "We…Suzaku and I…don't know what to think about this."

"I did notice that Zero wasn't here..."

"He said that he wouldn't be able to stand looking at you."

C.C didn't look surprised. "And I suppose you also feel deceived."

"Yeah! After initially being excluded fr0m his master scheme I figure it...the R-Requiem... out the moment it's completed. This makes me feel great because it means that I truly understood Lelouch all along and now I get why his murder was so upsetting to Kaguya. Y'know, because she also knew what he had done." _I'm babbling now, spit it out!_ "I just don't know why he would lie to us! About you, I mean. Of course he had to conceal the fact that he was just pretending to be a monster, but why was 'insuring his legacy' kept a secret from even Suzaku?"

After thinking for a moment the witch pushed a few strands of hair that had come loose back under her hat. "Lelouch knew that if he told you about the Requiem you would do anything to find another way. He also knew that you'd be smart enough to figure it out in the end." Her smile was terribly sad but Kallen detected the tiniest hint of pride "Never have I met a man with such superhuman resolve….and even though everything was for the best, I miss him."

_That has nothing to do with...I did **not** sit through a three-hour ceremony just to get blown off. _"You're just telling me what I want to hear!"

"No Kallen, you're simply no longer a part of this story."

Much to her frustration Kallen felt like she was going to start crying but an unmistakable sound that caught her attention took priority over all else. The two gunshots sounded in rapid succession and seemed distant._ But of course they're using a silencer; assassins couldn't do their work without them._ She thought as she lunged for C.C's hand, the witch having gone oddly still. Making a split-second connection that the wall would lead back to palace window Kallen followed along the wall at a run, dragging the witch behind her.

"Hurry up!" she hissed as C.C began to tarry, giving her arm a desperate yank because the witch wouldn't stop looking over her shoulder. The cold night air filling her lungs gave Kallen the energy to make it all the way back to sword-shaped hedge with the witch in tow.

When they reached it C.C snapped out of her strange reverie. "They stopped." If Kallen didn't know any better she would say that C.C sounded disappointed.

"But that still means-" She was cut off as C.C furiously signaled to be quiet and pointed to a body that was dumped at the bottom of a nearby hedge that looked like an obelisk. The man's Imperial Uniform was drenched with blood as he'd been cleanly shot through the heart, and his gun was noticeably missing. Before they had time to register this there was a flurry of rustling leaves and staying to the shadows a dark figure emerged from behind it. Shaky with fear Kallen watched with disbelief as C.C moved to leave their hiding place but caught her by her jacket collar and threw a restraining arm around her waist._ This isn't the time to be suicidal!_ The witch struggled and gave her a look of such pure hate that Kallen honestly thought she was going to be punched or have her brains fried with mystical mind powers.

The witch forced her way free with surprisingly ferocity and covered the remaining distance to her window. C.C then began to struggle her way up the knotted sheets at an understandably slow pace with Kallen behind her. _Should I have made her do something this exerting? Well...at least it's better than being killed._ Her hands began to slip on the now sweaty sheets and before she knew it C.C above her seems to be getting smaller, so rapidly that Kallen doesn't even have time to think why. A strange weightlessness took over her right before she made an instinctive grab for the sheet and her hand caught a knotted bunch. But now she's all the way back at the bottom and just as she frantically begins to worry whether they've been discovered by the mysterious shooter she notices from a dark figure among the hedges that they'd been watching the entire time.

* * *

><p>Sorry this is a bit late I was sick all week and it just turned out to be something worse than we thought. But I'm pretty much okay now. Next update May 25 bc of finals. And thanks for reading this far and for so long, I'm sure it's been a year since I desperately needed somewhere to vent my leftover Lulu Grief that had built up after the season finale. Whenever I do badly on an English paper or feel stupid after getting a bad mark I can say to myself "Oh yeah, well I have a 36-and-counting chapter story that's read by people all over the world, so there!" This website should have an auto-save feature -_-


	37. Tribunal

Chapter 37- _Tribunal_

C.C

Last night could have been a nightmare, the only evidence that it occurred being removed in a heartbeat._ But if it was Lelouch who had paid a visit, wouldn't that make it a wonderful dream? _Unknown to her a dozen servants had spent the night cleaning the meticulously kept lawn of blood after the Japanese representative was kindly asked to leave. C.C had shrugged off the blankets thrust over her shoulders and let herself be looked over for injuries without a complaint.

It was now Christmas morning and the rosy-cheeked Empress, her sister and Gilford were gathered in the common area to engage in the most jarringly normal of family practices, opening presents. Or rather looking at them because Nunnally kept insisting that they shouldn't start without Schneizel. As her attention was drawn elsewhere the amber-colored tea in C.C's cup threatened to spill over and she saved it just in time from staining the plushy sofa she was sinking into. She heard the mournful toll of cathedral bells and glanced out the arched windows, a bit heartened by the gentle flurry that was beginning to start.

The atmosphere couldn't help but feel hopeful and despite her youthful appearance and being treated delicately it made C.C feel old for like the millionth time_. Nunnally looked so happy when the crown was finally on her head, even more so when her siblings pledged unwavering servitude and allegiance. But from what I've seen it will only be a matter of time before she's controlled by their experience and hunger for power. Of course, I should trust Lelouch's plan and he does know them better than I do. Nunnally better grow more of a backbone and be ready to rule an empire with snakes as her closest allies._

Cornelia returned to her seat beside Guilford and took his hand. "None of the guards have seen Schneizel since early this morning."

Rather than look concerned Nunnally kicked her heels. "We can't start opening presents without him." She gave the stacks of brilliantly wrapped packages around her a wistful glance, all but four set aside for her. _Looks like the Christmas coronation had unexpected implications. _The empress was visibly eager to get started with opening her presents but was making an effort to even look regal and composed in her bathrobe. The sandy brown ringlets of her hair were slightly crushed where she had slept on them, because not even royals are impervious to bed head.

Guilford made one of his rare contributions. "This doesn't seem like a cause for alarm. I think I know why the prince would skip out."

"What irritates me is that he goes to such great lengths to act like a family yet misses out on things like this." Bemoaned Cornelia as she rested her head on the lord's shoulder in a rare show of fondness. "And why would he, Gil?"

"The church thing we have to go to." Nunnally said simply. "Even I know he's rather opposed to anything religious. If the guards have already looked on his office then he's probably hiding in the underground sector."

Throwing in a bit of knowledge she had overheard C.C made a suggestion. "I heard there was a pop star-slash-supermodel and her entourage of dancers in town. Perhaps he decided to say hi before she left for her holiday tour."

"I don't think-" Smirking, Cornelia took a sip of her tea and started again. "Oh yes, Farith Kaltan. I used to secretly idolize her."

Guilford was too surprised to hide his amusement and laughed into the back of his hand. "I won't believe that you ever liked that auto tuned rot."

"It's true!" the princess insisted, giving him a gentle smack. "That's for calling it rot. But I whined for the technicians to install speakers in the...what was I piloting then?" She shook her head. "Anyway, back to tracking down my brother."

The good mood was infectious and Nunnally tossed her hair over one shoulder. "I've learned that about Schneizel." And to the questiong galnce she continued. "He's the poster boy for normal then runs off and does something that only makes sense to him." She hesitated. "Lelouch used to do that too, so it must be a smart person thing."

Before the silence got too heavy Guilford brought the conversation back to the issue at hand. "I'm sure he will reappear once the morning service is over."

"Agreed." Cornelia got to her feet and addressed one of the mute guards who was stationed by the door. "And when is it supposed to begin?"

"Ten o'clock, your highness. But because of the increased traffic it is advisable to be ready by nine fifteen."

C.C felt a flicker of annoyance at the fact that they would have to leave soon, for she had almost fallen back asleep from the cozy couch and familiar voices. _This baby is turning me into a lazy lump. But I'm not going to get any sleep once he's born, so I'll enjoy it while I can._ She then realized that Nunnally had been addressing her.

"See?" The teenager was saying. "She didn't hear a thing I said, she's so tired."

"A terrifying ordeal will do that to you." Her sister replied. "Let's take Gil and leave her here. Does that sound alright, Cecinah?"

"Mmmhmm." the witch mumbled, struggling against the weight of her eyelids."Mmm fine like this."

"We'll be a few hours I'm afraid. Nunnally, be sure to bring your nicer wheelchair."

The Empress looked like she wanted to say something mean but only bitterly said. "I never knew wheelchairs were an accessory."

The three departed to their respective quarters and C.C drifted off to a dream where Cheese-kun and she were making snow angels.

* * *

><p>The slamming of a door woke C.C from her nap and startled her so badly that she tumbled onto the floor. <em>They must be back from church. <em>She thought from the cold wooden floor, glad that she had at least landed on her back. "...Nunnally, is that you?"

The door opened to Schneizel, and his hand still on the doorknob he peered down at the witch."There you are, Miss Chulainn. Please replace your...undignified attire and join me in my study. We have reached a decision regarding your relocation."

_No 'good morning' or 'Why are you lying on the floor, are you alright?' Just business...I thought royalty had impeccable manners but I guess Schneizel is only nice when he wants to be._

Feeling a little disoriented by his height she sat up and swept her hair away from her face, not caring that when paired with her postition and 'undignified attire' it seemed a little flirtatious. "Where were you?"

As expected Schneizel seemed unfazed and sat down opposite to her, Arthur following at his heels and curling himself around the prince's neck like an extremely fuzzy scarf. _It's harder to hate him when he has a cute little cat with him. _"I actually wanted to speak to you about that morbid affair. My guards captured the man who tried to hurt you last night and after the standard interrogation, which I was observing this morning, he was killed for attempting to harm a member of the royal family."

"What?"

He seemed a surprised at her passionate reaction and his eyebrows even twitched upwards a little bit, a nice change.

_That's not possible!_ She began to feel sick and resisted the urge to stand up and get the answers out of Schneizel with her fists. _I have to go about this carefully and not show too much interest._ A few forced tears choked her voice into a meek little whisper. "What did he say? Why would he want to hurt me?"

"Please don't worry yourself, just know that even if there was one incident, you are very safe in the care of my guards." He spoke as if to a small child who was claiming they had seen monsters under the bed. "When you relocate to my estate on the East Coast I will send the best ones with you. And the peace of mind paired with a secluded location ultimately makes it the most relaxing place for you to be."

_Gee, I never knew you to be so concerned about my wellbeing, especially since you payed people to murder me repeatedly and take notes on how long it took me to die. But I get the big house because I'm your heir incubator._

One of those guards who were supposedly keeping her 'very safe' strode into the room with obvious urgency to her gait and she whispered something in the prince's ear, who paled and abruptly got to his feet.

"Should I...?" The guard asked.

"Yes. Now is the right time." Completely ignoring C.C the prince gently picked up Arthur and swept away.

The guard snapped her fingers at the witch. "Come with me. We've received a tip that terrorists have planted a bomb and procedure dictates that the principles be split. His Highness has ordered you to be taken to Secure Location #7. It's only a twenty minute drive or so, but even with the most experienced sweepers it will take several hours to locate or rule out a threat."

_A few hours with the family won't be too bad._

"I understand, but not what you mean by principles."

He made an exasperated sound. "Look, just let me do my job and follow orders."

Knowing of course that the person giving them had to be Schneizel her suspicion heightened. She didn't trust a single thing His Highness told his monkey men to do and for _all I know he couldn't wait to butcher me and made this whole bomb scare up. _

Still in her silk pajamas she was escorted out a back entrance to a plain black civilian car. The interior smelled like a hospital and a black curtain was chained to the floor and ceiling for the passenger's privacy. The palace grounds were a hive of activity as the mass-evacuation took place and soldiers swarmed the premises so C.C had plenty to look at as their car was waved through the gates. As the richer district blended into the normal city she kept a fearful watch to make sure the car didn't pull into any ominous unmarked buildings.

An unknown stretch of time passed and they were out of city limits. A gurgle of hunger and Etienne's corresponding kick of censure marked the passage of time, and C.C was becoming more convinced that this was a setup by the minute. She felt grimy and sore and just wanted to get back to the palace. _I'll never consider that place a home. When our speed has decreased and we're the only car in sight, I'll incapacitate the driver and get out of here. What Schneizel and his crony here have in store for me definitely isn't a safe return._

She watched the roads and saw the beginning of sprawling suburbs careen past her window. It wasn't they were traveling through the 'Future Site of De Angelo Apartments!' did the car slow down, and as the brakes were slammed and the unruly cat luckily escaped death C.C saw her opportunity. Ripping the divider off it's gilded chains she darted her hand to the unsuspecting driver's neck, glad that the soldiers were required to have closely shaved hair. Delivering enough of her otherworldly powers to at least put him in a coma she got almost as much of a shock when the man didn't collapse into a pile of jelly and instead brought the car to a gentle halt. He swept his hand across his brow with a sigh of relief and turned to face her.

"I come to the rescue and you try to kill me?" Lelouch asked, his mouth spreading into the special little smile that is solely reserved for her.

* * *

><p>A few people sent me angry messages when I didn't post the chapter on the 11th when I even said that I had finals and a lot of work coming up in school. It's great that the people like the story that much, but I write this for fun and it becomes homework when there are a ton of hecklers. Those of you pleading for the end of Subhuman don't count, and I do have 500 or so words of that but I haven't been following through on my part of the deal with that story, i.e updating.<p>

Reviewer of the Week: Cassie23

That made my day! *overly sentimental sniff*


	38. Equanimity

Chapter 38- Equanimity

Lelouch

The witch had an almost comical reaction. "Lelouch!" Her face snapped into the most surprised expression he had ever seen her make, and then shifted to a radiant Mona Lisa smile. The man in question noticed the sparkly formation of tears in her fathomless gold eyes before her thin arms snaked around his neck and soft lips brushed his cheek. She mumbled into his ear. "What have you done to your hair?"

He self-consciously touched the fuzz that was the only remainder of his hair and returned the embrace with a gentle squeeze around her waist. He snickered at her strange question."It only takes thirty minutes to grow back..." _That's the C.C I love._

The pain of worry and loneliness began to loosen the its iron grip around his heart like a balloon slowly deflating. Because of his banishment as a child he had been used to hard living, but no time in his life had been as difficult as the last twenty days. Food was whatever scraps he could beg, steal, or dig out of the trash. There were no brainwashed remanents of his royal guard to call upon during his solo attack on the palace and about the aftermath Schneizel had at least told some of the truth, for Lelouch had been fatally wounded in the ensuing firefight. After the narrow escape he lay bleeding in the bushes for some time, eventually passing away and waking soon after.

Remembering last night, hatred for his half-brother welled up in his mind like poisonous bile and he was dreading to hearing C.C's account of her time at the palace. _If she has been made to suffer in any way by Schneizel's hand, from now on he'll go to a funeral every week. The same applies to Cornelia. Later I should ask her how Nunnally is faring._ He persisted."At least thank me, ungrateful witch."

She detached herself. "Hmph. The back seat_ is _spacious enough and it would be something...different...if I gave you a proper thank you here. But I get the feeling we're in a hurry." With a devilish smirk she watched him figure out what she meant.

His face burning Lelouch removed the driver's cap. "You're right...about being in a hurry. The righteous driver is comatose in a ditch, as I've developed the same abilities that you have."

"Oh?"

"I wonder if they will strengthen with time…" He said, forcing himself to focus back on the task at hand. "The royal guard was keeping such a close eye on you that-" He decided not to breach the subject of their encounter in the gardens. "I assume you've tried to escape."

"You know me."

"In order to make this look like a kidnapping, I'm afraid you're going to have to fake signs of a struggle."

C.C nodded, wincing as she bit her thumb hard enough to make it bleed. She smeared her injured digit across the seat and it left a single streak of blood. Lelouch disentangled himself and held the car door open for her, scratching the wood for good measure. As she stepped into the snowy street his stomach did the smallest plunge out of excitement for the uninterrupted future that lay ahead. And let me tell you, it takes a lot to give Lelouch vi Britannia butterflies.

"Where are you spiriting me away to, my prince?" She asked with an exaggerated bat of her lashes and accepted the black linen coat that she was handed, narrowing her eyes against the fingers of sunlight that managed to rip through the gloomy grey clouds. Countless inquires tingled on the tip of his tongue and only the most pressing one that had tortured him for weeks was formed into words. "I was planning to get as far away from the capital as possible, but first off…..Lucca…" A note of grief had crept into his voice for he had already steeled himself for the confirmation of his deepest fear. _On second thought, I should have asked later. But no one can prepare themselves for this kind of news._

Something anxious moved in her eyes, to be replaced by total yet slightly unsure happiness. "A boy. It's going to be a little boy…." She flushed and wrung her hands as if expecting him to be angry. "I've taken to calling him Etienne." C.C shook her head and spoke a bit louder. "You're going to have a son."

Releif, so overwhemlming that Lelouch was weak with it. "That's…." He began speaking under his breath but hurriedly met C.C's eyes. "Wonderful." _Now there's more pressure than ever to keep him away from civilization, for the royal family _(he refused to think of them as** his **family) _surely knows of this. I wonder why C2 wasn't paid off and sent away...there's no doubt that some kind of backhanded manipulation was involved._

"Be careful what you say about him, because he's already old enough to recognize his father's voice." _I never had any idea he would be a little person so soon._ Despite the urgency of the situation they managed to steal a few more kisses and the beaming witch made a swipe at his head. "Your hair...it's starting to look pretty again." For sure enough it was now a few inches long.

He ignored the taunt. "Please don't tell me you took his name from an emperor."

Overcome by a fit of shivering C.C took a second to speak. "Someone doesn't know their history. It's after Etienne Reinhart, the man who deposed your grandfather."

_Well, I like the sound of that. _The wind tugged at her flimsy pajamas and her bare feet were turning bright red. Beginning to untie his shiny black boots to give to her Lelouch stated the obvious. "We need to get you some proper clothes."

.

* * *

><p>After a short trek along a walking path they emerged into a neat row of expensive-looking residences. <em>Even though it's a bit after noon everybody in even this suburban utopia will still be the capital drooling over their prince, princess and Empress<em>. Choosing a house at random he strode up to the front door and dared a knock. Greeted by silence he scanned the upper windows and removed his vest, wrapping it around his fist in preparation to smash the glass front door. It wasn't until he had drawn back his fist did C.C intervene by simply opening the unlocked door. _Fools. _"Would you like to get the food?" He asked. "I should get the clothes...because of my upbringing I think I have more sense when it comes foraging for bare necessities."

C.C snorted and raced over to the stairs before he could get there. "So you think you have a better taste in clothes? Even if you do, you shouldn't."

Her green ponytail swayed behind her as she bounded up the polished wooden stairs.

"Look in the back of their closet for something they won't miss!"

He made his way through a homey if slightly disorganized sitting room to a tidy kitchen and banged around the cupboards looking for food that would last, settling with trail mix and a bag of chips. Next he tackled the fridge and palmed a half-dozen bottles of water and a few apples. Still keeping in mind that every minute they stayed here the more dangerous it got, he shaved some bread off a fragrant loaf and started making four sandwiches, keeping in mind that C.C's appetite had no doubt increased. Though there was always the ever-growing risk of the home's occupants returning and it almost felt like shopping and was actually kind of fun. When he was almost done raiding the kitchen C.C came back downstairs with a large lump of clothes in one of those string-drawn backpacks. Without a word she opened the pantry and after a short delay snatched a jar of something. Lelouch was hastily finishing the sandwiches (because even a destroyer of worlds can be adorably thoughtful at times) and was somehow amused by her carelessness. "What have you got there?"

C.C turned around and he saw dribbles of red on her chin from snarfing at warp speed. "Pizza sauce. Though I could have a deep-fried steak whenever I wanted, the palace kitchen always insisted on getting some all-natural crap. It's never the same as getting it from Pizza Hut."

"I've never thought that pizza was a dish that tastes best when the ingredients are extremely processed." He frowned at the thought of C.C eating so poorly but decided to save that lecture for later.

The pleasantly warmed interior begged him to sink into the squishy sofa over there and play tonsil-hockey with C.C, and he suddenly became very fond of the idea of having a family home.

Lelouch accepted a red fleece-lined windbreaker and C.C, thinking it was best not to be seen in a royal uniform, went with a bright green hoodie and a scuffed pair of jeans. A pink knitted cap covered her hair and for bonus points she completed the ensemble with blue shimmery sunglasses.

"Where are we going to stay for the night?" She asked, plucking a few chicken wings out of the fridge and devouring them in seconds.

"Maybe a rest stop, or a library." The demon replied. "I've been sleeping under bridges and such for this whole time...wait, I think I know how I can get us a hotel."

"You have money?"

He was motivated by the childish urge to show off. "You'll see."

The pair walked for ages, staying along the main road to find a hotel. At last he spotted the glowing sign of a grungy motel, the kind where each room is its own separate little building, and knew how to modify and execute his plan._ Even though she's used to a palace I'm sure she'll appreciate having a bed versus sleeping under the highway._ After pointing it out they went to take a closer look and found that each building had a dirty window high in the brick wall. _Perfect._ The second one's air conditioner looked as though it would provide enough of a boost to reach it and Lelouch had already knocked to make sure there were no occupants. _I've always wanted to smash a window. _He carefully climbed onto the metal box and wrapped the stolen vest around his hand. After punching a clean hole in it the glass he removed the worst of the shards to make entry easier. _And as a bonus, C2 got to see me do it. _

"Be careful of the glass."

She picked her way through the window and accepted his help getting into the dingy room. Lelouch felt around in the relative darkness and switched on a cracked lamp to illuminate the hotel room. The carpet was stained and a few of the patches could have been blood, and ugly floral spreads were folded across the single bed. Cold air gushed in from the broken window and he regretted not checking to see if it was unlocked first.

The witch primly sat down on the bed after he fastened the deadbolt. "Home sweet home."

Lelouch wordlessly handed her one of the slightly-smushed sandwiches he'd made and sat beside her, automatically chewing the rubbery cheease and ham.

"Your hair is back to normal." She said, running her hands through it and then cupping his face. The witch absently pinched his cheeks. "Skinny."

Sensing the inspection wasn't over he let himself be guided onto the cheap bed. She poked his ribs. "Very skinny. Sit up properly so I can see those bones."

Both standing on their knees they began kissing and his hands acted on their own as they caressed her back and one came to rest on her firm backside. Their bodies so close and pressing against one another he dimly noticed that she was perhaps a shade or two fatter, a fact that was somehow endearing to him. C.C didn't break the embrace and began steadily pushing him over until he was forced to lie down. Before he could right himself he was trapped underneath her, his poor heart working overtime.

The witch's green hair formed a minature tent as she leaned over him and when she wiggled just a little bit his thin chest felt like it was going to split open."Where are we going to live?" She asked out of the blue.

His mind was too busy losing it over the heat that burned between them and drinking in the lovely milkiness to her scent, but he finally managed to stutter something. "The option of returning to the United States of Japan isn't open...but to escape the palace forces..." he lost his train of thought as she pushed up his shirt and started kissing his bellybutton. "Hey, I-I'm trying to think!"

She pouted and began to shed her clothes. "Trying and failing, no doubt. I'm impatient."'

Glad that the conversation had petered out Lelouch decided that he really shouldn't make her wait any longer.

* * *

><p>Lelouch woke to furious knocking upon their door. His body was consumed by a deep, sweet ache <em>that is only comparable to….<em>he remembered their first night together when they had both been desperate and scared. The consequence of that was comfortably close and very warm, so he closed his eyes again. _I left the servants with orders not to disturb me. Why do they dare incur the wrath of the Emperor? _When the noise stopped C.C was still sound asleep, and more awake himself he did one of his favorite things; trailing his fingers along the delicate skin under her breasts until she giggled in her sleep.

Encouraged by her snuffly laughter he continued the gentle touching and thought aloud. "I wonder how it feels to have crossed swords with Joan of Arc and still be treated like a young girl by everyone at the palace." _I guess I'll experience the same in a few centuries._

With a yawn C.C rolled away from him and onto her side. "You're right, I was a great warrior..." Her eyes were still closed and she looked like she wanted to go back to sleep. She drew more of the scratchy fabric over her body to keep out the chill.

To his credit Lelouch merely snorted. "Was that before you took a liking to booty shorts and started guzzling pizza?"

The lumpy pillows tasted awful when she smacked him in the face with one. "This is the best century I've lived in...they're even starting to make cheeseburger pizza. "

He was about to make an inquiry about how that was even possible when the door strained against the puny chain that was keeping it shut.

"Dammit Charlene!" The maid swore.

The couple froze, for even though they were not seen any sound would give them away.

"Now I have to get Soren- shit, it's cold in there." When the door closed again C.C and Lelouch scrambled from the mussed sheets and threw on their wrinkled clothes. "Not now!" He hissed to C.C as she made to take a bite out of an apple. After some difficulty he gave her a boost through the window and was just about to escape himself when the door strained again. Instead of freezing with horror he reached for C.C's outstretched hand furiously began scrabbling up the wall. The door pooped open as the chain was cut and a man who Lelouch assumed to be Soren uttered a sound of fury.

"Stop!" He yelled, and Lelouch, suspended over the razor sharp spears of glass still protruding from the window frame was dropped by the hurrying C.C. It took Lelouch a second to realize that the person screaming was not him but the maid. An awkward shift forward broke the glass, which was stuck into his body, from its frame and Lelouch was caught in the arms of C.C. He numbly touched the chucks of glass and pulled one of them out with a shaking hand. The blood that poured from his stomach actually steamed as it spalttered onto the pavement.

"Go." Lelouch gasped, and to the best of their ability they began to escape.

_Fleeing is all that we're ever going to do._

* * *

><p>If anyone has a picture that they think would make a good cover image, please leave a link in the review. I don't really know how to put a seperate pic for each story though...<p>

Reviwer of the Week: Doctorjaws

I'm glad you liked that part because I'm always hesitant to attempt scenes like that.

Reviwer of the Week: 4braxas

Ja they went well, thankies. And I've always enjoyed writing conversations between them the most ^.^

There's going to be something waaaay different about this one..._Conquest_


	39. Conquest

Chapter 39- Conquest

Schneizel

Almost always cloaked in apathy, Schneizel was not used to being furious. The icy mask of his face was so cold he almost blended in with the snowy surroundings and the younger soldiers whom he observed investigating the crime scene trembled in their boots.

The flinty-eyed captain of his guard stood to attention, her face bright red with cold. "Your Highness, Lieutenant Cayse failed to report in at eleven hundred hours and that's, allegedly, when he strayed from the designated course. Our repeated attempts at contact went unanswered. The men we sent for recovery were delayed because of the weather and this location is so new it's not on the map."

The prince felt like he was speaking to a young and particularily slow child. "Why didn't you appoint anyone to tail them?"

She scuffed her boots in the snow. "Our duty is to protect and serve members of the royal family, especially during a crisis such as this, and not worry so much about a commener that isn't..."

"I know you're new to this position, but I need better excuses than that. An entire armed force of inadequates are tasked with moving a young girl from Point A to Point B yet lose her and one of my best men en route. She may not be the queen of Sheba but is in fact vital to...if I say she's important, she is." He hissed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and almost certain that a vein was visible on his forehead. Sadly, this was an extreme display of passion for him and his guard looked as if she had been slapped. "A month's detention, now get out of my sight."

"Y-yes sir."

_I will not have this stunning display of incompetence ruin everything. The consequences of Kanon's few mistakes were never this dire. _After instructing his cronies to keep this quiet for now he got back into his car and ordered the driver to take him home. Feeling the onset of a headache he rested his forehead against the chilled window and let his breath mark the glass. As the interior warmed he shrugged off his coat and tossed it to the other seat. _Cornelia will know how to minimize this situation's impact on Nunnally. All this because of the poor girl's unhealthy attachment to Lelouch...having Cecinah here with us wasn't worth being able to keep closer tabs on her. __At least she failed to integrate into the royal court and make any social progress. She won't be missed._ As expected, he himself had failed to develop any attachment to the witch and had never seen her as more than a nuisance. Knowing she was an ancient being in the body of a child made her terse acceptance of everyone's sympathy almost unbearable to watch. _Now how I am going to break the news..._

* * *

><p>To the casual observer, twenty-four Nirn Avenue was your typical mansion. A modern interpretation of the Romanesque style minimized the traditional thick walls and neatly concealed the many guard stations hidden in the rhythmic ornamental arches. From behind the spired iron fence one couldn't guess that the spotless windows were actually made of reinforced missile-proof polycarbonate, perfect against tornados, machine guns and zombies. The spacious interior featured a muted colour palette and most notably a command center, which was where the empress and her sister had gathered.<p>

When Schneizel found them the atmosphere was palpably tense, Nunnally frowning with frustration as the last of her armies were destroyed. Though they had been hiding for hours she was still in her taffeta crimson gown and had a pearl-encrusted tiara winking from a wreath of pale brown hair. Cornelia sat opposite to the empress and was obviously attempting to downplay her superior strategy skills. "Even with a perfect plan you can still lose." She said, noticing how her sister's hands were clenched into fists around the padded arms of her wheelchair.

Not bothering to announce himself Schneizel chimed in. "That's why I hate this game… it's all a matter of luck."

Nunnally didn't look up from the board. "Schneizel, I knew it was you. Your footsteps are louder than everybody else's." He felt a bit guilty about the dejection in her voice, _though I doubt I she missed me that much._

"We're finally good enough to be in your presence." Cornelia teased, leaving her seat to give him an hug made awkward by its spontaneity. "Happy Christmas."

Impassive, he replied. "Same." _Note to self: even while she's being threatened with death, being around Guilford has an extraordinary effect on Cornelia._

She could sense his need to talk alone and sobered almost immediately, leaning against the chair as if she had somewhere to be.

Oblivous to her exclusion Nunnally studied her sister's face. "I give up, so it's final...you're the winner. Congratulations, you get the honor of putting it away." The girl knocked her pieces from the game board and stretched. "How many hours were we playing?"

Her sister laughed flatly and waved over a servant. "That was nothing." She caught Schneizel's gaze, the light of fond memories twinkling in her eyes. "Whenever all of the kids met up, we would sometimes play this for hours on end."

He supressed a spike of annoyance and picked up the story, also feeling somewhat pained by this reference to the time when most of his siblings hadn't been dead. "And things could get pretty heated." _And I would always end up with a bloody nose, courtesy of Odysseus._

Perhaps desperate to make the most of the holiday cheer Nunnally suggested another game. "Risk is fun, but I've always wanted to learn a card game. With normal cards, I mean." She looked embarassed by this admission and her eagerness made her seem so young. A nicer-mood Schneizel might have caved but the grown-ups needed to talk, goshdarnitkid._ ...and now I know how parents feel. Besides, this is a palace, not a preschool. _

"I have no time for games." He said, perhaps too curtly. "And weren't you going to make some revisions on the Wyona Act?"

Instead of chastising him for the obvious dismissal Nunnally's posture wilted. "You're right...uh...Happy Christmas, brother."

"You too, Nunnally."

After she left Cornelia pointedly watched the servants, who hurried their pace and left soon after. "She's young...no need to be so cruel."

The prince took a seat as he carefully chose his words. "All the more reason for her to practice being punctual. But it's not an issue with Nunnally that vexes me...it's Miss Chulainn...she's gone missing."

"Missing? You mean she was kidnapped during-"

He held out a silencing hand. "There is a possibility of that, yes. But it's likely that no hostile parties were involved, for I believe she left of her own free will."

Last night in the gardens had been explained away with the flimsy excuse of sleep...climbing? _But even the dullest idiot can see it was an escape attempt. The only difference this morning was a lowly guard in her way, and even a highly trained assassin wouldn't stand a chance against her abilities. _

His sister gave herself a shake. "No matter what happened, Nunnally will be devastated."

Schneizel thought of his ruined schemes, all of which hinged upon a single witch. The Damocles, years of work and his ideal tomorrow had gone up in flames and he was determined to keep that from happening again. "In case you've forgotten, we have an entire empire working towards her safe return."

_It's only a matter of time._

* * *

><p>July 20th next update bc of a family vacation.  
>JohnTitor from the Witch x Warlock forum gave me the idea for Ch. 38, thanks again John :)<p>

The Path of Blood is languishing in my Document Manager and I need someone to read it/give feedback so please PM me if you are interested, woot woot.


	40. Cleave

Chapter 40- Cleave

Sylvia

Sylvia tightened her grip around the other girl's hand. She was strong for a ten-year-old, and Evelyn stopped in her tracks.

"Don't be nervous." He friend intoned, checking to make sure the tour group, consisting of their classmates, stayed within sight. The footsteps of dozens of young schoolchildren were magnified by the polished marble floors and high ceilings so that they sounded like a stampede of horses.

"I'm not." She argued, proving herself wrong by shooting an anxious glance at the chaperoning teachers. When Tommy Baurs knocked an ornamental flag out of its stand she saw their chance and took it, ducking into the concave space of a doorway. The two girls remained pressed against each other, hardly daring to breathe as their class continued on without them. Sylvia felt for the money in her pocket, calming when she felt the sweaty paper bills. _Just enough for two train tickets._

Sylvia Briton, Class President of the Fifth Years and an orphan since birth, was sinewy of limb and short of stature. Her tan skin and peachy yellow hair indicated mixed parentage and her grey eyes never stopped nervously flitting around the room. A droll mouth that always remembered to smile made her pretty, and she sometimes thought that that was why most other girls disliked her so much. The plentiful wrinkles in her tartan school uniform reflected her carefree, if sometimes careless, attitude and though St. Kerrigor's Home for Girls instituted a strict code for their appearance no matter how many times she was sent to see The Mother Superior she could never stop chewing her nails down to stubs. She, along with her self-styled sisters bore the generic last name given to all wards of the state.

But jealous of her appearance or not Evelyn Briton had been her best friend since the Second Year and they were nearly inseparable. After a lifetime of seeing their pure-Brittanian roommates go to loving homes and the ones like Evelyn with almond-shaped eyes and her with darker skin get passed over they figured that no one would ever want _mongrels like us._

The dull monotone of their boring tour guide carried down the hall. "The Ohio State Legislature is known for producing Brielle Blackwing, the first female senator. And the flag that was just kicked all over the floor was given to her by our Prime Minister, Prince Schniezel el Britannia. " Fearing they were coming back Evelyn gulped audibly and stepped on her friend's toes as she attempted to squish herself even closer to the door. This forced Sylvia's ear up against the smooth wooden door and she couldn't help but listen to the action inside. Muffled grunts interspersed with an occasional cry of pain..._the security guards must be taking down someone suspicious_….and she knew that even if it meant foiling their escape they had to move.

"C'mon." She hissed to Evelyn. "Miss Marple said we would hit the gift shop after the tour. And they haven't even noticed we're gone."

"Okay." Her friend agreed. "If anyone finds us, we got lost."

"Sounds like a plan." She allowed a bit if the excitement she was feeling to seep into her voice. They would have to be careful, two little girls on their own, but there would be no more of the tasteless food or grimy clothes that the orphanage provided. Her favorite thing in the world were those giant pretzels you buy off the street and now she could eat them for every meal as long as their money held out.

To avoid suspicion they forced themselves to walk to the lobby at a normal pace, averting their gaze from the security guards that seemed to be everywhere. The girls were distracted by a small spectacle that was happening between a young woman and a guard at the security checkpoint.

"Miss, you can't bring any food beyond this point. You're not even supposed to have it-"

The woman tossed her brilliant green hair and gestured wildly with a spaghetti sandwich. She looked to the man that was apparently her boyfriend or husband and calmly spoke to him. "Le…Lawrence, tell this gentlemen about the intern who was bringing in a pizza."

He ran a weary hand through his raven hair and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's not worth the trouble, Catherine. We can play tourist some other time."

Sylvia had enough time to see her shove the sandwich back in her coat when Evelyn whispered a warning in her ear, and a friendly-looking security guard swooped down upon them. _They're going to ask where my teacher is, if they don't kick us out first._

"Hello girls, did you get lost?" He asked, twisting his earpiece.

Widening her eyes Sylvia shoved aside her annoyance. "Yessir.

"Are you with Miss Marple's class? They're at the gift shop right now, so come with me."

Knowing they had been busted the two girls hung their heads and let security take them.

Evelyn shot her a look that said _What are we going to do now?_ and Sylvia had no choice but to shrug.

"Has your day been fun so far?" The man asked with an air of distraction.

Evelyn piped up. "Y-yeah…I liked how we learned so much about the different processes."

Their escort stopped walking and suddenly gave Sylvia a slight shove in the direction of the exit. "Girls, you need to leave. Wait with police outside. Now!" He boomed, and began to reach for the Taser at his belt when an explosion wracked the building. It was as if the floor had flung them into the air and the wind or something else was whistling in her ears as she landed on the hard hard floor. The wall sprayed chunks of rubble and she was not conscious long enough to feel the pain of her twisted arm or the stone pieces piercing her body.

* * *

><p><em>A starry sea engulfed her. <em>

She can help us. _A voice whispered._

_I can't! Sylvia wanted to answer. All I can do is fall._

_The darkness sun dizzily around her, and it seemed as though she had been falling for years. A burst of light emerged from the uniform void and it was a planet of some sort, like the one Miss Marple had showed her during their astronomy unit. Angry streaks of...dust? Blood? Curled across its seething surface and what appeared to be statues showed through the coiling mists below her. Under bird-like tattoos on their foreheads the carved eyes were watching her knowingly._

_By some strange force she landed among them, just as the ground began to disintegrate. _

* * *

><p><em>How long have I been asleep? Where is the ocean?<em>

With great difficulty Sylvia quelled the rising black water of panic and took a steady breath. The buzzing in her ears made it hard to think properly, but she instantly wondered where Evelyn was and whether she was alright. The place where she rested, what she thought was a hospital room, was as dark as her dream, but an acute pain in her right arm throbbing with every heartbeat assured her that she still clung to life. _Evelyn, Mycah, Tommy, Miss Marple….are they in the hospital too? _Though the room felt cool enough, the nape of her neck was beaded with sweat and she realized she was still in her filthy uniform. Wanting to see how badly she was hurt Sylvia blindly felt the space beside her bed for a table and found one, knocking a few bottles of pills to the floor.

_Did they drug me?_

The resulting rattle must have notified her captors for a square of a light opened in the wall. A dark silhouette holding a battery powered lantern entered and held the light up to his face. Sylvia recognized his raven hair and delicate features as the man who had been with the crazy woman in the lobby. She would have been afraid except for across his forehead was the same bird symbol from her dream, and his face showed no sign of agression.

Instead of speaking to her of offering an explanation he addressed another shadowy form that had crept to her bedside. "C2, she's awake."

* * *

><p>I finally followed through and published The Path of Blood, which will not be continued.<p>

_Distinction_

_Lonely_


	41. Progression

Chapter 42- _Progression_

Nunnally

As the Empress inhaled a lungful of frigid evening air she imagined her troubles fading like the temporary chill inside her core. _I can't hide out on the balcony forever, because some of them have traveled halfway across the world! _She smothered a yawn and went back inside to meeting with the fifteen viceroys, all of whom were fighting various degrees of jet lag. The elderly Sabola Greene was already asleep and drooling on his trademark emerald waistcoat.

"Thank you for your patience." Nunnally intoned, appearing calm even though her heart was racing. She returned her rightful place at the head of the massive table with Schneizel at her right and Cornelia to her left. But when she was making such an important announcement such as this they offered little in terms of support, so she held her chin a little higher and continued on their meeting.

"Since time immemorial, Britannia has been a leading world power." The stiffly scripted words felt strange in her mouth _and I'm starting to talk like Schneizel."_But after the recent tragedies and changes we must ask ourselves, what means did we use to achieve this status? And what did we sacrifice along the way?" She ignored the barely audible chorus of _Hmmph_s and let her words sink in just as Schneizel had advised her to do. Nunnally felt an abstract sort of courage from the way she had them enraptured,_ a fifteen-year-old leading the worlds greatest empire._ "A legacy of cruelty and conquest has come to define Britannia, and today that reputation will change. All countries under the control of Britannia will now be given the choice to become a commonwealth, stay as is, or completely secede from our Empire. For my deceased brother gave the countries back their names, and I'll do the same with their freedom." _To create the new, gentle world that was his dying wish._

Cornelia lay out the final terms. "And as a viceroy, it will be your final duty to ensure that these countries are self-sufficient and ready for a productive future."

To Nunnally, asserting her authority and finally getting closer to her dream was akin to winning a race, climbing a mountain. But the statements sure didn't go over well. Noelle Stallord, viceroy of Area 9 and all its inner countries, gave a small shriek and held on to the arms of her chair for dear life. On the other hand Robert Rakeno of Area 4 began protesting almost immediately. He cleared his throat and shot a nervous glance in her direction. "Your Majesty, on behalf of Viceroy Greene I ask if the choice will be given to areas that have earned a correctional status."

"Pardon me." Fumed Gianna Mirai of Area 8. "But I'm curious about the fate of our esteemed houses. My family has kept Eight in line ever since the seventeen hundreds-"

The viceroy of Area 2 interrupted her."How long do you estimate this to take? Canada hasn't governed itself since-

Sensing the lack of order Schneizel stepped in. "Her Majesty hasn't called a recess nor asked for questions. Nunnally."

She stifled a yawn._ Too bad the biggest change in the history of my empire is happening past my bedtime. _"There are other matters that require my attention right now. Good evening." It was kind of awesome to not have to deal with a room full of insulted, irate and downright confused dignitaries.

"As Prime Minister I will answer any questions regarding the finer points of this reformation." Her brother stated as she left.

After she dressed for bed one of her maids arrived to see if she wanted anything, a crystal glass of milk in hand. "A warm glass of milk will help you fall asleep."The maid offered the drink but Nunnally didn't take it.

"I'm not thirsty. But I do want my hair brushed."

The girl was strangely rough and Nunnally sent her away. _Now wouldn't really be the right time to ask Cornelia for a new one..._

Ignoring her gut she threw on a dressing gown and retraced her path back to the meeting room. She struggled with the heavy door and couldn't help but hear the conversation within. It sounded like on Cornelia and Schneizel remained.

"...it's quite a shame that she must die. Though with her gone our plans will be so much easier." Her brother was saying.

"But she's only a child-" It was strange to hear Cornelia sound so desperate.

"Britannia's future is at risk if she remains alive. It's as simple as that."

A cold sweat formed in the niches of her hands and the Empress resisted the urge to fling open the doors and ask what was going on._ They want to kill me_. Absolute betrayal wracked her body like an an electric shock. _It could happen anywhere. Can't trust my guards, Schneizel appointed them_. She barely managed to go back to her room and close the double set of doors that _protect me, but in a prison kind of way. _She fought back tears and climbed onto her bed, realizing she hadn't prayed for Lelouch in a while. Thinking about him always made her feel better. When it came to religion she was discouraged to actually believe it, but as empress of the Holy Britannian Empire had to at least act devout. _I wonder if God understands that Lelouch did such awful things for a good cause. And if my brother is watching from Heaven, will he protect me?_

The glass of milk was sitting on her bedside table. _She was trying to poison me! _With a flick of her wrist she pushed it to the floor. The dagger that she had been somewhat trained to use was hidden on her wheelchair but she brought it to her bed. _Who am I kidding, it's not like I'll be able to fend off an assassin who's good enough to be hired by a prince._

* * *

><p>She must have nodded off, for she was face down in a pillow when her ultra-sensitive ears heard the door swing open. Forcing her breath to stay relaxed she felt for the dagger and curled her fingers around the hilt. <em>Stay calm, don't move, keep your breathing steady...<em>.

Silence.

Beginning to wonder if it was just a draft the empress whimpered with surprise as something heavy pounced on her back. The furry weight began to lick her neck and she realized that it was just Arthur the cat, his warm breath heavy with the sour smell of milk.

* * *

><p>Princess Schneizella and Prince Cornelius. Ohohoho.<p>

Thanks to 4braxas for putting up with my needy-ness and spamming.

Nunnally in Wonderland is out, and there's a link on my profile page for your convenience.


	42. Triage

Chapter 42- Triage

C.C

"They're both dead." Lelouch said harshly, clearly in terrible pain from his sagging collarbone. He was barely audible over the shriek of numerous alarms and tried to lead her away from the two bodies. "We have to leave before anymore police arrive!"

She ignored Lelouch and the smoking ruin around them, focusing her attention on moving the rubble away from the two girls. Yes she hadn't cared much about the dozens of dying children in her village during the Black Death but she couldn't just leave these two to die _no matter what Lelouch said._ The one with blood-matted hair appeared to have shielded the other and had a dent in her skull for the trouble. It was unclear whether the other was alive or not but C.C was sure she had seen the blonde girl moving. The sudden fervor to save her blocked out everything Lelouch was shouting about rescue workers and she furiously dug through the pile of shattered stone. Finally able to access her neck C.C felt for a pulse, and found the warm current of life beneath her skin.

To calm Lelouch down she picked her up and offered and oh-so-helpfully explained. "She can help us."

* * *

><p>it had been a spontaneous decision, but C.C didn't regret it. Even now, when she was dutifully overseeing the girl in her sleep to make sure she didn't unknowingly scratch her semi-healed wounds. <em> The bombing was done in Emperor Lelouch's name, so in a way we're kinda responsible.<em> And with Lelouch out making money by_ surely illegal means_ every night and nothing but that nightmarish scene to keep her company she didn't want to spend New Year's Eve alone.

For having survived a terrorist attack only a few days ago Sylvia was doing quite well. Bandages crisscrossed her body where C.C had picked out the fragments of stone and her arm suffered only a sprain. When she awoke to find that she had basically been kidnapped by a mysterious woman named Catherine and her partner Lawrence the first thing she asked was whether 'Evy was okay.' C.C grimaced when she thought of when they had broken the news to her, that the accident had claimed the lives of both her teacher and all of the students. Sylvia was counted among the dead as well and seemed to at least take comfort from that fact. C.C hadn't asked why she wanted to get away and didn't know where to start with all of the complicated emotions the girl was sure to be feeling.

_Though I'm becoming a parent myself, so I should learn how to listen to a child's sentiments._

With a rustle Sylvia's dark outline sat up in her bed. "Catherine?" She asked, her voice thick with drowsiness.

The witch started and nervously pulled the long belt of her chocolate-scented bathrobe. "I-I wanted to see if your arm was giving you any trouble. Since it's not I'll leave you-"

"Don't go!" Sylvia squeaked, and C.C sensed that she had known of her presence for a while. "Can you sit here for a little while?"

"Of course."

Resting against the bedframe C.C sat like that for a while, and just when she thought the girl had gone back to sleep Sylvia spoke. "How many hours until midnight?"

"Last time I checked, one."

"So it's probably 2019 now…..when this year are you having your baby."

The witch smiled into the darkness. "June."

They hadn't talked that much about Etienne because C.C thought she would feel pressured to become a permanent nanny.

"Is Lawrence excited?

Lelouch's somehwhat un-enthusiastic reactions to the news came back. "Yes, but he's also nervous."

"That's good." She took a long pause to think of her next words. "Catherine, back at the orphanage we would always have a party at midnight. Can we have a party now?"

"Well..." Even though she really wanted to get a good sleep C.C decided that it couldn't hurt to spoil Sylvia once and awhile. "What do you have in mind?"

Sylvia slid off her bed, almost getting tangled in the old shirt of C.C's that she wore, and made her way to the one central room of their 'house' and began to eagerly rifle through the cooler where they stored all of the food. "Let's make pancakes!" C.C told the girl which ingredients to get and let her mix them as she warmed up the pan on the portable camping stove that they used.

"Should I put fruit in mine like the nuns always did?"

"Sure." C.C searched the cooler and hoped that the fruit wasn't too rotten. She extracted some mushy strawberries and a bag of pepperoni, showing her the soggy bag of meat. "I'm putting this is mine."

Instead of being amused the girl simply shook her head. "Strange."

"Don't over-stir…it looks good like that." The cream-coloured liquid flowed into the pan and began to bubble deliciously. Though she had eaten a whole watermelon for dinner C.C's mouth began to water. Sylvia cut the strawberries into chunks with her hands and sprinkled them into the solidifying pancake, waiting patiently until C.C plopped it onto a plate for her. She wordlessly took the syrup from C.C and carefully drizzled it onto her plate.

"Evelyn's favorite food was pancakes. But the nuns said that the sugar in syrup was bad for us, so they never ever let us have any. " She tore hers into neat eighths and began eating it with her hands. After four sections were gone she started to slow, and the the fifth seemed to stick in her throat.

One blink later and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Almost unable to breathe through the congealed mass of food and sobbing at the same time she was acutually choking, and C.C wasted no time and began furiously patting her on the back. With a series of gasps she cleared her throat and C.C turned her lifesaving embrace into a hug. Sylvia buried her face into the witch's shoulder and wiped her eyes with C.C's long braid.

"I never knew it was going to happen." She manged to whisper after a fit of tears. "How can they all be gone so easily? Why did they have to….they didn't deserve to die like that."

"It was a completely random act of violence." C.C finally said, swaying in a gentle motion to calm Sylvia down. "Some people are so selfish that they don't care if others suffer to achieve their goals."

Sylvia sniffed and began rubbing her eyes. "And the pancakes don't taste so good anymore."

Deciding she would worry about the mess and dirty pans later C.C suppressed a yawn. "How about we both go to bed, it's too late for both of us." _Lelouch will probably be cashing in on the New Year's Eve rush, so I don't think he'll be home at all tonight._

"Okay. But you don't have to sit with me." She managed an awkward wave. "Night. Thanks for the pancakes."

"You helped make them."

She opened her bedroom door and instantly noticed the pungent odor of smoke._ Strange. Maybe it's something from the cooking, because my nose had been really sensitive as of late. _While settling down into the mismatched nest of blankets a hand reached out and squeezed her sock-clad foot.

"Lelouch?!" C.C exclaimed, feeling foolish for letting him scare her. "If you're home this early…was there another murder?"

"A fire, actually." He sounded close by and she blindly searched the air until she found something.

The words came automatically, and though they were something she'd always wanted to say Lelouch would porbably be more glad to hear them. "Welcome home."

* * *

><p>Was setting up the elementary school carnival and took a falling light to the face, resulting in so many stitches that Frankenstein would be impressed. I took the week off school because I can hardly speak properly while on so many painkillers, and there was lots of time to watch anime, Sword Art Online in particular because it's <span>awesome<span>. Thanks for your patience and for understanding that this chappy is not the best ever, I tried my hardest because I made a commitment and it's fun. Next chapter on 9/8/12


	43. Predomination, Part I

Chapter-43

Predomination, Part I

Suzaku,

At 0030 hours BRT Nunnally was paying a visit to close family friends when eight of her ten personal guards were shot where they stood. The head of the family, Lady Lila van Exel is threatening to release a fatal nerve toxin if outside forces intervene and we still have not figured out what she wants with my dear sister. I implore you to ignore the current political climate and save her from this life-threatening situation. The coordinates of her location are 29° 43' N 29.716 85° 01' W -85.0167, which is St. Mariah Bay, Floridia. A Knigtmare built for stealth would be best as there is a large library tower that provides adequate space to land.

~HRH Schneizel el Britannia

P.S I cannot stress how important it is that this remains confidential.

* * *

><p>Suzaku had been staring at the message for the last half-hour, his mind reeling. With nothing but the wall-mounted screen providing light his eyes were starting to burn. <em>This has got to be a joke. <em>He was hypnotized by the legitimate signature at the bottom, backwards 'S' and all._ The wording is without the gloss of formality and was no doubt written in a hurry…but Schneizel begging me for help? _His immediate reaction had been extreme suspicion, but every moment he spent doubting this unexpected plea _could put Nunnallyin even more danger._

Even though he knew the risk was great, in his mind he saw her gasping for breath as a witch-like Lady Lila cackled and clapped her hands. His pulse beginning to race Suzaku decided to take action, and maybe even don the trusty white pilot suit from his Lancelot days for one last mission. He found it under a stack of Zero's _flamboyantly tacky_ capes and tossed it in the shopping bag that had previously held Kallen's thoughtful New Year's gift, homemade _kobumaki._

The Viceroy's Palace, once a symbol of oppression, now served as the new government's main headquarters. And being an integral part of the U.S.J's future and really having nowhere else to go Suzaku spent a good deal of his time there and knew the swiftest route to where the Knightmares were hidden. Will a Vincent do the trick?

He was careful to avoid the roving security guards and quickly punched in the passcode. Orchestra music was echoing throughout the dank room and he called into the thick darkness.

"Dr. Grenci?" He still hadn't gotten over how strange Zero's distorted voice sounded when asking a question.

A floodlight flickered on to reveal the newly-hired specialist. The youngish woman sat in the outstretched hand of a spindly black Knightmare of her design, the Wolfram. Built for stealth rather than strength two were kept in a secret hanger and saved for the prime minister if he needed to make an emergency escape. She was busily applying a sticker to her forehead and only bothered to look up when she had attached a wire from it to the Knightmare's exposed motherboard. "Master Zero….why aren't you at home celebrating with your family?"

Even though he knew of her habit to circumvent manners he couldn't suppress a flinch of annoyance. "I could ask you the same."

"My family is right here." She crooned, wiping a nonexistent smudge off the dull black metal. "Say hello to Astralada."

"Uh, right."

The sticker made a ripping sound when Dr. Grenci tore it of her skin, and she leapt to the ground with surprising agility for someone whose job required them to sit all day. "Did you bring me food?" She craned her neck to get a glimpse of what was inside the shopping bag. "It better be something good."

"It's nothing..." He gestured to the hulking machines. "I need to take one of these out, and for you to authorize it."

"I'll give you permission." She said without hesitation, and grabbed a hard plastic square from a nearby workbench. "If you try out my new pressurizing armor." The lumpy shape in her hands looked awkward, squishy….nothing like the sleek if somewhat battered suit he hoped to wear.

"No, the one I have is just fine-"

"Why do you even need a Wolfram? Maybe you're a serial peeping tom who wants to get a look into apartment windows."

It was all he could do to stop himself from grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her forcefully. _I'm already behind and by the time I'm done talking to this idiot Nunnally could've been hurt. _The sweat-beaded skin around his hairline tightened. _Or killed._

"I'll wear your stupid suit." He snapped. "Just get it ready to go."

"You can take Saul. He's an advanced version that a seasoned pilot like you can handle." Dr. Grenci slapped the leg of the Knightmare she hadn't been sitting on. At three meters in height it was larger than Astralada but way smaller than anything he had ever flown. As Suzaku put on the 'pressurized armor' behind a door she explained how the paint is dotted with a series of micro-cameras that to make an image of the Wolfram's background, making it almost invisible when the feature is activated. She told him to stay out of clouds and avoid the rain and murmured a goodbye to her beloved machine, tossing him the key so he could turn it on himself.

It was a smooth takeoff and he was grateful for the extra speed that the Wolfram's low weight allowed. As he flew farther out over the ocean the distant lights of many New Year celebrations soon faded to tiny pinpricks dotted on a black mass of land. The Wolfram's energy wings were slim for quick manuevering and looked as though they were made of liquid smoke, for they had been designed to distort a pursuer's view of the cockpit and other such parts.

According to the environmental measurements the wind was a swirling cold ocean breeze, and the clouds were slowly establishing dominance over the sky. Soon the stars would disappear and the crescent moon would be wreathed in grey. It was a scene almost fit for a middle-schooler's trapper keeper. Aside from dodging the fireworks launched from a drifting boat the flight was unremarkable, and it even could have been peaceful if his mission weren't so dire. Though he was going as fast as possible it the flight still seemed to be taking a painfully long time.

_I have to save her. The weather is pretty good. I'm in a Knightmare. _

Suzaku pushed his haiku-of-the-moment out of his mind as the Britannian shore came finally came into view. In a dive that would put most birds of prey to shame he targeted the coordinates that had been superimposed on the small screen and activated the setting for invisibility.

Sticking up from glowing white sand and perched on a jumble of seaside rocks was the library tower, and after a moment's hesitation Suzaku touched down upon the tiled roof. From this vantage point he noticed that the massive beach house was strangely silent, especially for being the site of a hostage situation where the empress is involved. _Maybe the whole situation's already been resolved. _But he couldn't just bail out now and leave now, even when there was a small chance she was still in trouble. His old pilot suit comfortably wedged in a storage slot and completely forgotten, he let the Wolfram slowly levitate to the soft beach. He flipped open the hatch even though he was in full view of the house, a black figure emerging from the sand. But no one would notice, for he really was a ghost in the truest sense of the word.

* * *

><p>Please excuse the shortness, as this year I'm taking my first college-level class and the test that's on Monday is the only one in this whole grading period. And I'm not sure whether to let the stitches over my right eyebrow heal because if it scarred then there would be some Kakashi action going on.


	44. Predomination, Part II

Chapter 44-Predomination, Part II

Suzaku

Suzaku tightened his grip around the weathered wood and lithely pulled himself onto the balcony. The sliding glass door was unlocked, a detail he simply attributed to stupid rich people. The cavernous interior of the seaside mansion was completely empty and appeared to be under construction. His caution increasing with every step Suzaku slowly made his way into the dark depths, cursing himself for not thinking to bring a weapon. Getting in had been easy…_too easy._ There wasn't a single light to guide his way and he relied on moonlight alone to find the Empress _if she's even here. _He was getting more sure by the minute that this was a set up, _or_ m_aybe this is the wrong house?_

Deciding not to consider the possibility that everyone was already dead hecontinued on his quest, giving a sigh of resignation when he saw his latest obstacle. The hallway up ahead was barricaded by a haphazrd arrangement of lumber, and he set about contorting himself and wiggling through spaces the no mere mortal could slink through. As he was performing a backbend of lengedary flexibility to clear a jagged patchof wood an errant nail must have caught the protective chest pad of his suit for a patch of wetness spread over his chest and the smell instantly reached his nose.

One pale pink sleeve having fallen off her shoulder. It was the saccharine, cloying reel that brought back memories of touring the mines in Mount Fuji with his father during the Prime Minister's annual inspection. Sure enough liquid Sakuradite came away on his hands when he touched the spreading patch and he knew that he would soon be drenched in it. Even though he was trained not to panic in situations like this he blindly tore at the sleek fabric in a desperate attempt to get it off. In the short amount of time he had been wearing it seemed to have gotten even tighter _and it's possibly even designed to do that._ His fingers proving to be useless he abruptly took stock of his surroundings and ripped off a sharp-looking splinter of wood.

He began to hack at the fabric without mercy and the dull spike still chewed through to his skin as he tore off a majority of the taunt fabric. Suzaku didn't care. _In terms of providing protection this suit was pretty useless._ When he reached the oozing pouch of explosives he uncovered a delicate web of wires buried inside of it, _a detonator_. _Whoever's working behind Dr. Grenci planned on me taking this bomb to Nunnally and then blowing us both up._ _Even if I didn't reach her there's enough here to take out half the house. _Taking no risks he disentangled himself from the tangle of lumber and smashed a window overlooking the ocean. He threw the wires out and now shirtless, shivered in the sea breeze.

* * *

><p>Room after room of nothing but paint cans and spare lumber was enough to drive him mad, and the ninth room he checked was the only to offer some kind of variation. room was sparsely decorated with a small table and an accompanying chair. Something that looked like a pile of blankets was in the room's darkest corner. A motionless figure was sprawled across the floor, a billowy dress and flowing hair indicating that it was female. His heart nearly stopped when he saw a forlorn wheelchair hiding in the gloom. <em>Has the gas already been released?!<em> He wondered if he had been breathing it in the whole time, and why he wasn't dead yet. When he thought about it, he _had _been struggling to breathe at times….._but was that just my nerves? _He took a few shaky steps toward the figure and knelt by her head. The murky moonlight made it difficult to see her face I the angle that she was lying and to identify her he inspected a lock of hair. Squinting at it for a few seconds he saw that it was a pale cerulean and that the girl was not dead, for as soon as he touched her she mumbled about someone named Marco and gave a delicate belch. When he carefully stood up again he knocked over a previously unseen bottle and it shattered upon impact with the spotless grey tile. Moments after the sound he sensed movement amongst the blanket-thing and heard a familiar voice.

"Dotty….?" Asked Nunnally, coughing weakly through her words."Is that you?"

Tears blurred over his already partial vision and Suzaku stumbled in the direction of her voice. "Nunnally, it's me."

"Suzaku? Why are you-" He silenced her questions with a hungry kiss, and their lips were already together when a new fear formed in his mind. _What if she's forgotten me, or was trying to forget me?_ Nunnally wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "What are you doing here?" She whispered, sounding bothe bewildered and amused. His lack of shirt made him feel extra-aware and he held her a little closer. His previous worries forgotten he found a bitterlaugh bubbling in his throat. "Would you believe…that Schneizel sent me here." He caught the slightest whiff of something alcoholic on her breath and his voice took on a stern tone. "Nunnally, have you been drinking?"

She snorted. "It was just a teeny glass of champagne at midnight. Dotty had the rest, that's why she's such a mess."

It was the moon's emergence from behind the screen of clouds that made him say the crazy thing, _because isn't lunacy the word for it?_ "You shouldn't be here." He said to himself, ignoring her confused expression. "So you have to run away with me."


	45. Resolution

Chapter 45-_Resolution_

C.C

-June 15th, 2019-

It had been almost six months since the Empress went missing. Though the palace desperately lied that she was suffering a medical complication, most people knew better. And even in though these were 'tragic circumstances' it didn't take long for her replacement, Schneizel, to can all of the progressive policies towards liberating the areas and crack down on the rights of Britannians. It took a lot of convincing from C.C to talk Lelouch out of stirring up another world war and they'd settled for riding the immigration wave ironically back to the USJ. As much as Lelouch hated feeling like a disgraced son coming clean to his parents he and C.C moved back into their cozy farm house. C.C reasoned that being squatters in a bad part of Leda wasn't good for their growing famiy anyway. And here in Japan they'd have a more stable source of income versus what Lelouch could scrounge up from gambling at seedy bars.

Four and a half days before C.C's due date it was an ordinary summer night in the town of Heiwa. A welcome breeze rustled the fruit-laden trees and sleepy cows shuffled in their pens. On the far outskirts of town the motley group of Britannians adjusted back to the simple life far from the travesty their homeland was becoming. C.C's deepest fear was that Nunnally is actually gone, for no doubt Lelouch would want some more destruction of worlds with his morning cereal. She was happy with their quiet farm and could think of no better place to have her and Lelouch's son, but occasionally he could sense he was getting restless.

* * *

><p>The witch woke abruptly from her sleep. <em>Sylvia better not be sneaking out to ride the horses again. <em>She gently moved out of Lelouch's arms and got to her aching feet, taking a moment to get used to the rushing sensation in her stomach. Etienne was normally active at night, _but not this active. _Her billowing nightdress suddenly felt a bit wet and she fully realized what was happening.

"Lelouch, the baby is coming." She was excited and scared at the same time, _why is he still asleep? _The witch turned on the light and slugged him with a pillow. "Wake up!"

"Wha..." He recoiled from the light. "Whatimeizzet..." His eyes finally focused and she held out the dark patch for him to see. "C2...is that..."

She nodded, and Lelouch immediately left to grab all of the tings they'd prepared. A knife, a candle, string and a large bucket of warm water...C.C had seen the very same items used back when she was a child.

"How do you feel?" He asked, a bit of worry showing from behind his grin.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little….wobbly." She clamped down her teeth to suppress a sudden cry of pain. Lelouch wordlessly helped her back to their bed as delicately as if she were made of glass.

"Sit tight. I-I'll tell Sylvia to get Anya." Though it was dark C.C nodded and she heard Lelouch fumble for the doorknob a few times before leaving.

Lelouch left her sitting there and woke up Sylvia, telling her to get Anya. The former knight had successfully birthed Peppercorn, the gray colt that Sylvia liked to ride, and having an extra pair of hands couldn't hurt. In a trance-like state she lay back down as waves of pain wracked her body._ Oh God, it __**hurts.** _C.C had seen women give birth before and knew it was painful, but nothing could have prepared her for this. A light flickered on in Sylvia's room and Lelouch returned to sit patiently by her side. His face was contorted with anxiety as he patted her hair. She knew that he'd never intended to for this to happen but now he seemed as concerned for her and the baby as if he'd wanted this for years.

"What's taking so long?" She asked, her voice shrill with pain. "Do I have to wait?" Her wide white nightgown was uncomfortably stuck to her sweaty skin.

"There there." Lelouch muttered. "I think this is natural. It hurts a lot while you're in labor."

C.C could hardly stand it. She lost her sense of time: everything was happening very quickly and her torment seemed without end. Lelouch was no doubt suffering too, for he wanted to help but felt so powerless….C.C picked up his hand and gave it bone-crushing squeeze. There was a loud bang as the front door burst open and in strode Anya.

"Here comes baby." She sang in her signature monotone.

C.C's awareness ebbed with each contraction and then cut back in once it was over, making everything seem like a poorly cut movie, a hodge-podge of random scenes. She could do nothing but lie there and make this horrible groaning sound like a dying animal. _Maybe I am dying. _

"Honey, you can start pushing now." Lelouch said nervously, and positioned her so that her knees were up and her knees parted. Anya knelt by her feet and looked up her skirt. "It's going to be very soon."

After an agonizingly long time the pain began to ease a little and C.C stopped making the horrible sounds. She closed her eyes and prepared to get this over with.

"Stop pushing!" Anya said suddenly, and after feeling to make sure her hair was in a ponytail she told C.C to breathe slowly. He eyes scrunched closed the witch gave a few panting breaths, and somewhere by her side Lelouch nervously moved. One of the two drew her skirt away from her legs and Lelouch said something like "No wonder it hurts….."

With tremendous relief C.C felt the pain abide at last as the baby's head came out, then the body and feet. She opened her eyes to see Lelouch holding something at her feet, with Anya blocking her view.

Though it wasn't obvious the witch could see that Lelouch was nearly hysterical. "He's not breathing!"

_My baby is not...alive?_

He didn't seem to know what to do with the reddish thing that was almost as big as his two hands. Her brow furrowed Anya brought the baby, which was still connected to C.C by a pulsing blue cord, to her face and seemed to kiss it. Moments later Etienne began to cry, his weak little mewls making all of the pain worth it.

With a great effort she sat up and Lelouch pushed something slimy into her hands. "He's beautiful."

_Beautiful?_ C.C looked down at the tiny thing covered in blood and some other fluid. To her the thing was somewhat horrible. With her sleeve she gently wiped everything off Etienne's tiny flat face and out of the delicate patch of hair on his head. It was dark purplish and curly, _so you've taken after your father. _She finally found her voice through the lump that had formed in her throat. "Hello, Etienne…I…." She never would have thought herself able to make a sound like that, a prayer, a croon. So undeniably human she felt resurrected, complete. The words were savored sweetness on her tongue, to truly confirm its owners existence.

* * *

><p>I'm working on an awesome Dark Brotherhood story with Obrusnine that picks up from where the game left off. And we each have our own characters that are going to join...it's gonna be awesome.<p>

And Akito of the Ruined Land is out, a link is on my profile page. I got bored so I did a time-skip, heehee.


	46. Diversion

I'm Chapter Something-Extremely-High- _Diversion_

Sylvia

Sylvia let herself bake under the blazing summer sun, savoring the warmth on her chestnut skin. From her view among the top leaves of an orange tree she could watch the marvelous sunset. She really wasn't supposed to be up in the trees….Lawrence had made that clear on several occasions. _But it's not like Peppercorn is going to tell on me._ The black-spotted colt was tied to the tree and snorted as if in agreement. She was in no hurry to return back to the charming little shack that was her home..._if Etienne starts crying one more time then my head will explode. And Catherine is acting kind of crazy, and then Lawrence tries to make it better..._

"Peppercorn, can I stay in the stables with you tonight?" She laughed at her own joke, which only added to her loneliness. At times like this she missed Evelyn the most, _and now that I think about it she loved she smell of oranges. Once I got her that key chain and then Sara threw it out the window. _Even thoughts of her now-deceased enemies brought tears to her eyes...nah, not quite. Forcing them back Sylvia gave a delicate sniff and carefully picked her way down through the tangle of waxy leaves. A rumble of hunger in her stomach finally had convinced her to return home, even if she sometimes felt left out of Lawrence and Catherine's lovey-dovey haze of new-baby-ness.

With a 'Hya!'* she urged Peppercorn to return as fast as he could, and she gave him a handful of oats for making it within minutes. She normally spent all day helping Anya with the horses and had a special talent for keeping them in line. Catherine had adopted a sporadic sleep schedule and was usually sleeping this late in the evening so Sylvia took extra care to quietly enter the house. Just after kicking off her shoes she saw both of her 'parents' in the kitchen area, both turned away from where the little girl stood.

"-troops were just sent out this afternoon." Lawrence was saying.

_Ooh. Sounds like they're having one of those adult discussion I'm never allowed to hear._ Before she could be spotted she fled behind the door of the closet she slept in. A thin mattress coated the floor and she had just enough space to curl up with the quilt she'd helped Catherine make.

The green-haired woman was now perched on a one of the crates they used around their table. And of course Etienne was in her arms. _I don't think I've seen her without him even once._

"Another conflict..." She hopelessly replied to Lelouch's statement. "Just when I start to have faith in mortals again, they go and negate the greatest thing that's ever happened to them. It's as if you died for nothing." Etienne hiccuped and his mother had no choice but to smile.

_Lawrence has died before…what?_ Sylvia wondered if she had heard that correctly and listened even more closely.

Lawrence didn't look up from the dough he was rolling and gave the mushy blob his version of a forceful punch. "If they're mortals, then are we divine? You could be the goddess of pizza." He gave a strained chuckle and began to fill the pan used for baking bread. "But in all seriousness, this never would have happened if she were on the throne."

"I know. And for Etienne, at least, it's good that we're so far away from it all." The grim line of her mouth changed into a smirk. "Hey Lelouch, guess what you're the god of?"

Sylvia's confusion turned to fear. _Lelouch? A nickname, I guess. I mean he does look an awful lot like the old emperor, but that couldn't be possible. I saw it on TV, everyone did. And it's a trend to have greenish hair like that, Catherine couldn't be **her**._

Catherine whispered something in Lawrence's ear, at which he turned slightly pink. "I can see why…not on front of the kid."

"It's a good policy to have, even from day one….oh no, he's crying again."

For Etienne's shrill scream was once again emanating from such a tiny body and Catherine took him to his bed. Lawrence looked worried, like a frazzled mother hen, and blue frilly apron only adding to the appearance. With a good-natured smirk on her lips Sylvia kicked off her shoes and stepped into the room. "Is he hungry again?" She asked, pretending to not have overheard anything.

"He's probably tired...or maybe he's seen enough of this world and wants to got back to his mother." Lawrence pressed his forearm to his face and didn't speak for a few minutes. Finally he shook himself and handed her a warm loaf of bread wrapped in a cloth. "Could you take this to Jeremiah? Right now?" Lawrence pushed a warm loaf of bread into her hands.

Her mouth watered at the scent and it took a lot to not devour it on the spot._ There will be a transportation fee, for sure._ "Uh, alright."

Convinced that she was almost dead with hunger Sylvia made her way back out to the stable and saddled up Tobasco to give Peppercorn a rest. Though she was sloppy with the reins and halters she bothered to take the time and check the sun's position. _They're working me to the bone and I don't even get a timely dinner._ She was admiring the fading streaks of pink that were now painted across the sky when she spotted a lone figure approaching from the road. This was alarming, for _Catherine and Lawrence told me they ran away from their families to be together….could this be someone who's looking for them?_

With a gentle nudge to Tobasco's flanks she brought the pony over to the mysterious person, and got a closer look at their face. Nearly speechless with incredulity she managed to breathe "W-what do you want?" It sounded less like a brusque inquiry and more like someone pleading with an angry spirit.

She was not who he was looking for, and the small lines between his eyes deepened. "A woman with a winged V on her forehead. It's sort of brown and….she has long green hair." Suzaku struggled with making his description of the witch. "I'm sure you can help me find her."

* * *

><p>I'm so irked because I kept on losing my progress. Curse you, AT&amp;T.<p>

*Loz taught me this.


	47. Author's Note

Author's Note:

First off, this isn't the dreaded 'permanent vacation' notice that a lot of stories get...I even have a bit of dialogue for this chapter and the rest planned out. But I will definitely pick this back up when writing this when I feel like I'm able to deal with the pressure... I'm just getting used to school stuff after a good friend went missing in the storm. I hope you understand.


	48. Awake

Chapter 48- _Awake_

Suzaku

Suzaku resisted the urge to fidget as he looked into the mistrusting eyes of the girl on the pony. "Who …._are_ you?" She breathed, but the look on her paling face told him that she already knew.

He mustered what he hoped was a friendly smile. "I'm a friend of Jeremaih and Anya's."

"I don't know if uncle would want to see you." The girl said gruffly, as the shock faded from her face to be replaced by suspicion. "You look like a soldier." _Uncle…?_

Suzaku managed an uneasy laugh and tried to sound casual even though he was sure that he was getting heatstroke_. _"It's important that I speak to your….er…uncle, then."

"He's not my uncle." She said impatiently. "He's my dad's uncle."

_Could this 'uncle' person be another one of the old Black Knights? No, nobody besides Jeremiah and C.C were close enough to Lelouch to warrant going into hiding. _

"Look, I think I'm-"

"Mommy's at the big house too, but she's too tired to see anybody now." _So Jeremiah and Anya are living as siblings then. _The young-ish girl girl studied him even more carefully. "You should follow me before you pass out. And don't get too close to Peppercorn, he kicks people he doesn't know."

Rather baffled by how easily he had won her trust Suzaku nevertheless followed her down a dusty road. Though he felt sticky and faint Suzaku could still appreciate a fine summer day, not unlike the ones he'd looked forward to as a child. _I can understand this. _He thought, for here in this reclusive corner of countryside the current political struggles at hand seemed distant. _Then why don't I feel bad about trying to drag someone into them...I shouldn't, it's a fair deal. _

A few animals that ignored the extreme heat wandered lazily around the yard of a quaint farmhouse, a refreshing change from the harsh city architecture he'd been looking at for the past few months. Sylvia tumbled off the pony and removed its saddle, something she looked to be well-practiced at. After tying Peppercorn up she raced to the front door and kicked it open as Suzaku trailed behind her like a ghost.

A distantly familiar voice called from upstairs. "Don't slam the door!" And to Suzaku's surprise a baby began to wail. A moment later, to much creaking of boards C.C descended the stairs in a whirl of green hair. She looked the same except for a new roundness to her face and a few extra curves that suited her very well. A formless garment made of what looked like curtains gave her the appearance of an ancient priestess and made her perpetually youthful features more jarring.

When she saw him, her expression changed from of annoyance to something unreadable…_maybe even anger._ "Suzaku." She said his name like it belonged to a man that had killed her family.

Sylvia sensed the loathing in her voice. "Mom..?"

Her focus shifted to Sylvia. "I'll take care of him, sweetie. Now go check on Peppercorn's hoof."

With a single glance back Sylvia barreled back out the door.

C.C's eyes trailed over the kitchen knives that were hanging near the sink. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

In his long hours of isolation he'd craved this, another human being besides Nunnally who knew him. He felt a sense of pent-up release even though he had an angry witch on his hands. Ignoring her question he stifled his irritation at the crying, which had only picked up in intensity. "Is that….?"

"My son, yes." A hint of a smile broke through her stormy expression. "He was born few days ago…a big guy, seven pounds and four ounces."

The crying abated, and C.C looked even happier. "He has quite the temper, just like his dad's. I was telling Jeremiah that he's going to grow to be more like Lelouch too, I mean they already look similar-" When C.C became aware of her enthusiastic babbling she cut herself off. "How did you find me?"

Suzaku stopped grinding his teeth. "Well." He felt an immature sense of victory as he hammered down his answer. "Jeremiah's location is sort of an open secret, and you're too predictable."

"Predictable?! I like to think of it as imitating a normal human life. And I bet you don't know that after escaping from the palace I lived in a condemned house literally on the Empire's doorstep... but with them searching for me and a bombing just about every day, it was too dangerous a place to live..." She clutched at the uneven hems of her long sleeves as if she had caught a sudden chill, though the air was sweltering. "I never thought I'd find a permanent place to settle here. So now that you've disrupted my much-deserved asylum, what do you want?"

Determined to find relief for a long-festering wound Suzaku took a deep breath a prepared his long-winded explanation. Now that he prepared to speak his theory aloud it suddenly felt ridiculous. "A long time ago when I was five, I hadn't really grasped the full concept of life until my pet toad passed away. I then realized that the same thing will happen to every living creature... including my family and those I love." He struggled to keep his voice even as Euphie's last moments resurfaced. C.C was watching him carefully, looking at him as if he were a violent child who had dropped their ice cream cone and was on the verge of having a meltdown. Ice cream. **Melt**down. "Though we've talked about it before...I know you can remove the Geass that Lelouch placed on me. All this time you've been perfectly capable." He took on a pleading tone. "Don't be another victim of Lelouch's craftiness. Save me from sharing your fate."

She didn't seem to hear him and took a deep breath. "Is that all? Looks like you've failed to submerse yourself in the character of Zero and are too weak for the loneliness and pain that come along with being him. And resort to stirring up international conflict just so you'll have the company of a certain Empress." A grim half-smirk formed on her face. "You haven't only failed your duties as Zero, but also the one to uphold world peace."

* * *

><p>For my birthday, I want a cake with a sexy picture of Lelouch's face+ glasses printed on it. I don't care what you say. And updates will be back to two-week cycles just not exactly on Fridays. C.C is going to manipulate Suza but I just don't know how yet. I feel like there's too much sitting around and talking while exciting things should happen. IDEAS. Too tired to work in the conversation about Nunnally.<p> 


	49. Cease

Chapter 49- Cease

C.C

C.C tossed her thick green hair, relishing the opportunity to watch Suzaku squirm. She had never really liked him, even when he was child, and though their paths had been so closely intertwined she still thought of him as nothing more than an obstacle. Having run through her long conversations with Lelouch an unexpected tide of emotion rose in her voice. _Lelouch's rather unhealthy degree of obsession with Nunnally seems to have rubbed off on me. Or maybe it just mean I love him so much that I... whatever._ Whenever she had trouble figuring out complicated human feelings like this she needed something to do with her hands, and seized a stew pot. "Lelouch left Nunnally the world to preserve, and you selfishly snatch her away to use as a bargaining tool." Suzaku flinched at her reprimanding tone. "_He_ was manipulative, but even he wouldn't sink this low." She grabbed the ripest tomatoes from a basket where they stored their home-grown produce and began to squeeze them into a bowl.

Not seeming to know what to do with himself Suzaku leaned against the polished edge of the table. The high collar of his coat fell back to reveal silvery blotches along his neck, _that's right, he saved her from a fire._

He seemed quite put out at her aggression and responded in turn. "Why...my intentions were completely innocent." His voice broke. "She was living in constant fear. Of Schneizel and Cornelia, those scheming... I stupidly proposed that she get away from all of that and hide in the United States, and she latched on to it, threatening to kill herself if I didn't take her away that very night." He looked to the ceiling, as if apologizing to someone up there. "What could I do..."

"What's best for the world." C.C replied flatly. "The last thing that a time bomb like Britannia needs is one weak ruler after another. Oh, and peel this cucumber." She handed him the waxy green vegetable and grabbed Lelouch's flowery apron from its hook. _ Nobody can sound angry when saying 'cucumber.'_

As he numbly realized what he was holding Suzaku gave a pained laughed, sounding rather hysterical. "I steal a Knightmare prototype, show my face to a bunch of villagers who think I'm dead all so I can beg to have my immortality lifted, but instead I end up preparing vegetables." He turned the peeler over in his hands as if he were thinking of slitting his wrists with it*. "Do you know what he's done to me? My body will wither while my brain remains perfect."

The witch didn't look up from her task at hand. "Somebody could keep your brain in a jar."

"Yes, wouldn't that be nice?"

Turning her back to him C.C fetched _salt, basil, dill, is that all Lelouch said went in it? He'll be waking up soon, I should get rid of Suzaku to prevent that rather nasty encounter. Maybe I could say a few magic words over Suzaku and send him on his way._ She glanced at the stairs that led to where Lelouch was taking a nap with their son. He'd promised to make gazpacho for their evening meal and there was no telling when he would fulfill his promise. As of late Lelouch was trying to discourage her love of pizza and introduce other similar foods that she may take a liking to, but was failing. She would pretend to like the quiche, omelettes and paninis he tirelessly made for her _but nothing can ever beat Pizza Hut._

As he had begun to slowly peel the cucumber she glared at Suzaku. "Get your sleeves out of the food."

"Sorry." He mumbled.

For a while they cooked in uncomfortable silence, when a bundle of basil tumbled from his hands. "Sorry!" Suzaku spluttered, for all the world acting as clumsy as Lelouch. C.C felt herself smile as she turned her attention back to peeling carrots, completely taken by surprise when she felt a well-aimed chop on her solar plexus and had the breath knocked out of her with a delicate 'oof.' A callused hand seized her wrists and pulled them together at an awkward angle and the carrots tumbled from her hands, Suzaku slapping an arm around her face as he used his considerably larger weight and height to knock her off balance. This happened all in a few seconds and the witch's forehead burned as an angry current of psychic torture flowed to her hands at a degree that would render a person permanently insane. _Getting some control over these powers has been one of the best things to happen to me._ She furiously tried to shake him off, but for all of her wisdom and unnatural age she still had the body of a sixteen-year-old girl, one that had recently weakened because of her son. And we all know that Suzaku is capable of impossible physical feats such as quadruple helicopter kicks even when he was nineteen and overpowering a petite girl is much less strenuous.

As she struggled his gaze flitted towards the kitchen knives, and she taunted him to go ahead with a flick of her eyes. She thought of Lelouch upstairs and Jeremiah fishing half a day's ride away, and decided that she didn't care about the consequences of an encounter like that. _I could say that Lelouch is a ghost._

With a forceful bite to Suzaku's arm she freed her mouth just long enough to let out a desperate cry of. "**Le-!**" Until he put his teeth-marked arm back over her face. He untied her pink apron wrenched back her neck, stuffing the fabric into her mouth before she could make a peep. Now that her head was free she lashed backwards and hit his nose, but Suzaku didn't care as he carefully bagged her hands to her chest with the flowing apron.

"I'm sorry." He gingerly pulled her to his chest and spoke wetly through his bloody nose. "But you're right. I can't use Nunnally to bargain with, and you'll be worth something to them."_ Them, as in the scientists. _"The world is out of balance, and you're just the right leverage to put it back in order."

* * *

><p>A bit short this week, but I have a new direction figured out! And I'm excited about it, which definitely means it will be awesome. And there's a new Brotherhood chapter for you Dovahkiins out there~<p>

*wouldn't put it past Suzaku, stupid, emo, whiny little...*mutters to self*


	50. à suivre

Chapter 50- A Suivre

After working on this story for over two years I have grown dissatisfied with the direction it has taken, and am doing a complete re-structuring/re-writing to make it the story I want it to be. The whole new plan I had for the plot seems really desperate and tacked on, and if a book I was reading had played out like this story I would have thrown it out and complained to the next three people I talked to about how bad it was. And I just lack confidence in my plans, or maybe that's just my depression talking. But never fear, the new and improved version will feature...

-more Jeremiah and Anya

-OC's that **do** something useful!

-an actual plot based on actual history (I've just been winging this whole story)

-Schneizel's twin daughters

Thank you so much for following and supporting this story for the last couple of years:) I'll leave this story posted as a sort of diary of my progress as a writer and so people can still enjoy it, but the new story will include all of these ideas I didn't include, have improved characterization and be completely separate from this. Thanks again.

-VO1D


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